As if she'd never happened
by chill-mee
Summary: When Affie Williams was brought to Camp Half-Blood she had no idea what her destiny was. Destiny of love and fire kissed by the sweetest death. A story of unexpected happenstances, that does not interfere with the canon plot, taking place between the end of The Lost Hero and the beginning of The Mark of Athena.
1. Chapter 1: The kidnapped girl

When this chick first came in, I had absolutely no idea what I'd done to make her mad. To be honest, I usually had no idea what I'd done to make _any_ girl mad, and they usually were after me for something I'd done to them (because they were never confident enough to confess their undying love for me, I guess) but this chick in specific, I would have sworn on the Styx I'd done nothing to her, 'cos, before that very second, I'd never seen her in my entire life. And no way I could've ever met such a stunning girl like that one and forgotten her. _No freaking way_. Even so, I had spent the last few weeks almost all by myself, forging, bending, reparing, thinking, designing, creating and whatever else, you name it, for the Argo II. The deadline was still far away but Annabeth wasn't growing any more patient.

So yeah, no idea what was she doing in my cabin. She simply stormed in all furious (and, oh, so fearfully beautiful) and until Piper came in behind her asking her to '_Please, calm down_' I didn't realise she was running from someone rather than running towards me. It was kind of embarrassing, 'cos I ducked out of reflex, and I ended up as a huge mess on the floor, after accidentally hitting some engines I'd been working on. It wasn't until I got up with my best face of 'yeah, I always do this, cool, huh?' that I realised they weren't paying attention to me at all, and the girl's expression was nothing like anger but frustration. Such a frustration, it had her near tears- I'd never been comfortable with crying girls. Rusty people skills. So I made my best attempt.

"Hey, babe, no need to be worried, Leo's here to help" was all I could manage to say. Piper gave me an angry look. Hey, I was just trying to help. The girl's face turned, though, and her eyes lit up. And, Holy Hephasteus, what eyes. Right up until then, I had just made out her short, slim yet not skinny; pale figure. That and her straight hair that here and there had a couple soft waves, changing back and forth from black to light brown; as some sort of kaleidoscope made out of coal, cinnamon sticks and amber. But her eyes were pure solid raw rubies, no kidding. I mean, no real precious stones were in her eye-sockets, but they might have as well been. Her eyes were pinkish red and shone with breathtaking intensity. I could almost feel her angst, and for some reason, the strange hope that invaded her when she noticed me.

"Leo?" She asked, as if wanting to confirm my identity, pronouncing it uncommonly right, as _Leh-oh_ instead of _Lee-oh_ as people usually did.

"The one and only" I agreed- and then she ran to me.

You know, when I say the ladies are crazy for me and stuff, I usually don't mean it literally. I simply mean they like me very, very much. But in that exact moment, it seemed nobody had notified her of that fact yet. She ran to me, hugged me, kissed me on the cheek, and started talking very fast in what took me some seconds to figure wasn't english nor greek, but spanish. She didn't have the mexican accent my mother and family had, nor the accent I'd usually heard from some people I'd met from Puerto Rico, Costa Rica or Cuba. So when she finished talking, it took me a couple mississipis to take a breath, and stop myself from freaking out. 'Cos in case Piper there hadn't noticed, a shockingly good-looking girl had just been very relieved of seeing me and had kissed me. She kissed me, ladies and getlemen. On the cheek, but she did.

"Uh, uhm, ah, ha" was the best I could manage at first, though. Very impressive. I cleared my throat. "_Uh, ¿podrías repetir eso que dijiste antes? Y un poco más lento, hace mucho que nadie me habla en español_*." She looked like all the worry in her had been wiped away, and calm only made her even more beautiful. Piper looked at me stunned, and I didn't know whether it was because of my language skills or the fact that this girl seemed very familiar with me.

Then the girl introduced herself. She said she was Affie Williams (who gives a pretty girl such a weird name?), she knew very poquito english** and had been kidnapped by some weird guy with hairy legs. She had been brought to camp and the pops in the blue house had told her some Leo in the place could talk spanish. She didn't know how had she'd understood that 'cos she was pretty sure the pops hadn't been talking spanish either. And then these girls, a worried blond one (aka Annabeth) and the one with the _compelling voice_ which I was sure was Piper, started talking to her pretty fast, and she simply didn't understand anything. She'd grown more and more desperate until she asked "Leo?" and Annabeth had brought her here, against Piper's wishes, 'cos she tought it'd be more prudent trying to talk to her first, trying to cool her down, or at least so she thought they were saying. _Great job with cooling her down, Pipes_, I thought.

"What's she saying?" Piper asked.

"She just says she hates your hairstyle, Pipes." She dedicated me a dreadful look. "Okay, she said her name is Affie Williams, and she speaks no english. She wants you to stop harrassing her and she wants some answers" I explained. "Why don't you let her hang around here for a while so I can answer her questions?" It was no big deal taking care of such a pretty girl. Specially one who seemed to like me so much.

Piper gave me a suspicious look, and then sighed. "Okay, Romeo. I guess it's no use if she can't understand what we're saying- though don't try anything. She hasn't been claimed yet, she could be anyone's sister, even yours." And so, she took her leave.

After Piper words I wasn't so confident anymore. So yeah, Affie seemed comfortable around me and everything, but I guess anyone would be if I were the only one they could talk to. She'd kissed me too, true, but in Latin America that was a normal every-day, any-person thing, so it was no big deal, at least for her. We talked for a while about her arrival and everything. She had been with her mom walking through Central Park when one of our satyrs spotted her and brought her to camp- she was sixteen, so apparently the satyr'd thought he had no time to waste. She was on vacations. I had created several wireless, remote-controled toys when dinner time came, and we had to get out. By then, she had already taken in the most important stuff such as being a demigod and having an immortal parent. Also, she'd discovered she was pretty good with greek, so she no longer needed to ask me for being her translator. I maybe would've ended up hating the jobb, but I didn't even get a shot as such.

The rest of my siblings met me at the dinining pavilion. Affie thanked me and jogged to her brand new place at the Hermes' table. When she left, she wasn't scared nor confused anymore, so I could catch a glimpse of her true personality: independant, cheerful, strong, smart. I felt a little abandoned when she took off so immediately and with such ease, but I guess that was unavoidable. She didn't look like someone who stayed for long, not ever. Dinner went softly, but I couldn't stop myself from staring from time to time at the Hermes' table, where everybody laughed and talked lively with their guest. Affie's hair gleamed almost as bronze would've under the sundown's light. That night, at campfire, it was most likely for her to be claimed by her godly parent. Since I'd been told her mother was very mortal, non-godly human, I couldn't help but hear Piper's voice in my head, and the idea of Affie being my sister somehow tortured me. She couldn't be, could she? Even so, I've to admit I had prayed to Hephasteus for her not to be my sister, when I dropped my share of food as my offering into the hearth.

"Hey, Hephasteus, you know, you probably are busy with Gaea stuff and whatever, and the gods have gone silent and all but, uhm, could you make her not my sister? Like, if she is, sort of go back in time and make her not yours? I'd really appreciate that." I'm not very sure why, but having her as my sister would make me very uncomfortable, so the words had come out before I could really think them. I was feeling pretty blue, playing with my food, when Nyssa asked me if there was something wrong.

"Nothing at all, just wondering whether it's possible to make food from celestial bronze, I starve working on the Argo II all day." They all looked at me like I was crazy and then laughed, and I laughed with them as well. Right, being silly and funny was easier than being lost in thought. Had forgotten it for a second there. But just for an instant, I could've sworn catching Affie staring at me from the corner of her eye. Of course, I must've imagined it, 'cos next time I looked in her direction she was deep in conversation with her temporary cabinmates. Yet, in my imagination, her red eyes were staring intensely, like they could see right through me, like she could've seen I wasn't being sincere by laughing and joking with my brethren. That scared me a bit.

* * *

**Translations:**

*Uh, could you repeat what you said before? And a bit slower, it's been a while since the last time I got to speak spanish.

**very little english.


	2. Chapter 2: Daughter of Love

The couple hours we had between dinner and campfire were filled with general excitement and a lot of murmuring. It took me a while, and Piper's explanation, to understand what was it about. Seems Affie had turned out to become quite popular at camp pretty quickly. Apparently sitting at the Hermes' table got her a lot of attention from several guys. The Stoll brothers had been announcing they had found the girl for having a trio, although they were just kidding, unlike some other guys at camp. It made me angry somehow that they all gave her so much attention. I didn't like it. Piper had come up to me right after dinner, which was a bit unusual, given the fact she had recently became Jason's girlfriend, and she rarely left his side. She was in a pretty good mood, if I had to take a guess, I'd say it was due to the fact she'd made plans with Jason or something. She'd also been able to talk to Affie. When the new girl was able to speak with them without feeling frustrated for not understanding her, the conversation went pretty swiftly.

"So, Romeo" Piper had caught up with me as we were leaving the dining pavilion. "How was your afternoon?" I grinned.

"It went great, except for the fact you cockblocked me, so I just had a really long conversation" I admitted.

"Oh, I thought... well, she seemed quite comfortable around you."

"As comfortable as if we were family, apparently. You ruin my style, Pipes."

"Oh, don't call me like that." She said, before giving me an apologetic smile. It wasn't her fault, though. As we walked, we went by several girls from her brethren, who seemed strangely enthusiastic to see me. Don't get me wrong, they were _always_ enthusiastic to see me, it's just that they normally knew really well how to hide it.

"Uh, what's up with 'em, Pipes? Did they finally figure out they need to be my girlfriends?" I asked, a little uncomfortable. Having all those girls looking at me made me feel awkwardly on-the-spotlight and over self-concious.

She seemed worried, though. She looked at me with what I recognised as... wait, was that pity? "Uhm, Leo, I think we need to talk a bit, do you mind? I know you're busy with the Argo II and everything, but it'll just take a few minutes."

You see, this is why I don't get girls. Weren't we talking just now? But no, apparently we weren't, 'cos now was going to start the conversation. That thing before? That was the pre-chat, the friendly approach, the small talk. The introduction, whatever you call it. "Yeah, why not?" Was what I told her, though. Having her answering those questions would only make her mad.

"You see, Leo, the rumor she spent the whole afternoon with you has already spread. Also, the rumor that even with a whole afternoon you weren't able to make a effective move on her. But those are just the girls from my cabin making mean comments, they're just jealous of Affie's attention. Although one thing is true. You souldn't make up your mind around her, Leo." She said all this with a friendly expression, the one you expect to see on your elder sister's face when she's explaining to you you are grounded for breaking a plate, or that you cannot have the toy you've been craving for months. Maybe that was what made me mad. Maybe it was the fact she was treating me like a little boy. Maybe it was Affie.

"Why? 'Cos she's completely outta my league? You think I don't know that, Pipes? I only play dumb, you know."

I knew she was just trying to protect me, but I couldn't stop myself, so I just walked down to my cabin. More Aphrodite girls stepped on my way, but I just ignored them. So annoying. I wanted to be alone for a while. It was in these kind of moments I wanted Festus to be my bronze dragon again and not just a bronze head I had to make part of the Argo II. When I reached the cabins' field I realised I was steaming. I got heated up. That's when I saw it. Better said, that's when I saw her. She was talking with Lou Ellen, from the Hecate cabin, when Will Solace, from cabin seven. He said something and both girls laughed, and then Lou took her leave- Affie was evidently uncomfortable with her leaving. They walked around, and soon she was leaning against the Apollo cabin (I followed them without even thinking about it), talking with him, standing in front of her. She looked really stunning in the dark. Gods, who am I kidding, she'd looked perfect during all day, under any kind of illumination. She was smiling to him, in a _very different_ way she had smiled to me that afternoon. Her ruby eyes seemed purplish in the dark, and Will had probably noticed that too, 'cos he didn't seem able to rest his sight on any other thing but them. It looked like she was bewitching him somehow. I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but once I heard what they were saying, it was impossible for me to walk away.

"It would be a shame if you turned out to be my sis, Affie... although you could easily be, since you're really pretty."

Affie looked down, a bit of shyness I'd never thought her capable of invading her expression. Also, some sort of disappointment. "I wouldn't say so..."

"Modest, too. Let's just hope you're a daughter of Aphrodite. Although they might be a little mean since they were pretty envious of you during dinner."

She simply smiled. "I can't believe they would be. They're all quite gorgeous." She looked up to him and smiled. "And if you continue like that, I'll start to believe all guys on the Apollo cabin are professional at flirting." She put a lock of her hair behind her ear, and I could notice she had pierced her left ear twice. A little blue ball on the auricle, and a small black ring on the helix. "C'mon, let's just hope for the best. I'm gonna go change." She pointed to her stained light blue shirt and her ripped jeans. "Better to blend in with the rest of you. If everything goes as everyone suspects, I'll have a cabin of my own by tonight."

Will looked disappointed, but if she noticed, she didn't care, which made me a little less blue, after such a scene. When I noticed Affie was walking right to where I was, I had just a couple seconds to hide or make it look like I never saw them. I managed to do both, although I couldn't help feeling angry. What had Will done for her to treat him so nicely? Having good looks wasn't a great merit after all. _But it usually has its way with the ladies_, a voice in my head reminded me. I started walking to my cabin as I originally intended, when she spotted me.

"Hey, Leo!" She told me. Even though it was greek, she still pronounced my name with a latin-american accent. I didn't know whether to hate or like the way she said it.

"Hey" I said, looking away. I just couldn't meet her eyes. She looked up to me, which definitely was a thing, 'cos not many girls in camp were shorter than me, and that's saying a lot. Her smile stroke me, but I noticed with a bit of bitterness the confidence in it, so different from the cute shyness she'd gifted Solace. She grabbed my arm and pulled forwards softly, walking towards the Hermes cabin. I tried to pull away covertly, but it didn't work.

"Thanks for helping me earlier, it really made it easier for me to wrap my mind about things talking in my mother tongue."

"I guess you manage in greek pretty good as well. It seems you didn't have any problems communicating before." I couldn't help blurt out. So much for my attempt of making it look like I never saw a thing. Stupid, stupid brain.

"What do you... oh" when she realised what was I talking about, she blushed. Her face was nearly as red as her eyes, which shone with some sort of culpability. "That was nothing..."

"Oh, so that's what they call it nowadays." I joked, looking at her playfully, a mocking grin on my face. It's easier to pretend. Yet her expression switched from embarrassment to some kind of concern.

"Don't do that" she pleaded, deadly serious.

"Do what?"

"Do that. Don't pretend. You're always hiding, using your jokes and smile as disguise. Be sincere." I seriously didn't understand how could she tell so easily I wasn't being myself in front of her, but it made me feel really exposed and confused knowing she could understand so easily the way of my emotions. It was almost... frightening? No, that wasn't the exact word. But it made me very weary of her, for some reason. I looked away from her.

"You are scared" she guessed. "They always are. People don't like my eyes, they won't meet them for long, unless they are trying to hit on me, which is no better. You were different, or so I thought until now." She confessed, and I felt my heart sink. That wasn't what had happened. Yet I didn't know how to answer her. It wasn't her eyes, it was the way she could see me without my walls, how easily she could identify all my feelings, tearing down my usual scheme.

"It isn't like that Affie... your eyes are very meetable, I just feel... nervous somehow. Anyways, I don't know how to..." she was looking at me, mockingly, and I wasn't sure anymore if what she'd said before was serious stuff or not. Gods, she was driving me insane. "You're terrible." I told her.

"I've been told so many times. Yet each time under different circumstances. I'm glad this is the one in which you tell me so. Now I don't have to worry." She explained, opening the door to the Hermes cabin.

"Worry about what?" I had to ask. In retrospective, I still don't know why I felt the urgency to ask that.

She smiled with attractive playfulness in her lips. "Breaking your heart." If not for her incredibly sad eyes, I would've believed she was simply flirting or joking. But those eyes left me with no clue of what to make of it.

Affie didn't ask me to wait for her, but I figured it'd be nicer than to let her walk herself to the campfire, although it was difficult to get lost, since it was in the middle of the cabin field. For some reason, I completely ditched possibility of her going by herself, having it such an obvious location. Can you believe it? While I was waiting, Jason passed by. He was coming from the Aphrodite cabin, where I figured he had just left Piper, who probably was feeling bad about making me mad or something. He might've been on his way to talk to me, 'cos he was walking towards my cabin when he saw me. She must've told him about it.

"Hey man" he told me, knocking his head slightly to one side as if for saying hello.

"Hey" I told him.

"So, already lost the battle?" He asked, very casually. How did he do that? It took me a lot of work to look casual, and I never managed to be as such ease as Jason.

"I actually chose not to fight it. Otherwise I would've won long ago. I don't like to compete when winning is so easy. I like challenges."

"I understand. Well, I'm glad you okay. Gonna tell Piper not to worry so much."

"Is she alright? I was a bit hard on her before, you know, when..." I didn't get to finish. Affie had just came out of the cabin, and we were completely speechless. Even Jason. She had tied a couple locks of her hair with a pink hairpin that looked life a flower or a handkerchief, depending on what were you willing to see. Her orange camp shirt had been cut around the neck, changing the classic round neckline for a square one. The sewing seemed so perfect you could've sworn the shirt was originally made like that, although we knew it wasn't the case. The rest of her hair hang loose, her ends brushing impatiently her shoulders and collarbone. She was wearing denim shorts as most girls in camp, but she also had put on a denim jacket, which suited her perfectly. I felt horrified when I noticed I had never been able to concentrate on anything for so long before, and much less on what was someone wearing. The idea I had spent the last few mississippis appreciating her clothing made me snap out of it.

"You look..." I started, but, what could I say? You look great? It didn't look like it had taken her a lot of work to put on those clothes. Jason restrained himself to an admiration whistle.

"I should better go to the Aphrodite cabin to pass on the news. If I don't warn them, they might attempt to throw you into the fire." Great, I thought. Now even Jason, who already has a girlfriend, is hitting on her. Affie blushed.

"Uhm, thanks, I guess." She grabbed my arm and pulled me away. "You didn't have to wait for me, you know."

"Oh, but I wanted to." I blurted out. "I mean, uhm, I thought it would be rude to leave you there and..." she smiled.

"Yeah, whatever you say, Valdez."

The walk from there to the campfire wasn't exactly long, yet I managed to ask her a couple things about herself, like, where was she from, and a bit about her family. She had a little half-sister and a stepdad. Her stepdad had married her mother before she was born, so she inherited his surname, Williams. As for where was she from, she simply answered: south. South where? No idea. She could be from Miami or New Mexico, or she could come from the Caribbean Islands, Peru or Uruguay. I'd known right away she wasn't spanish, but I still couldn't make out where exactly was she from.

When we arrived at the campfire she kissed me on the cheek as a 'see ya', and left, just like that. I somehow noticed at some point between the walk and the kiss I might've been so deep in the friendzone, I'd already drowned there. How exciting. The other option was she really liked me but, come on, what were the odds for that.

We sang around the campfire, the flames deep purple, casting long queer shadows behind us. She'd arrived just a couple hours ago, but somehow I couldn't help staring at her, even when all she did was talk and laugh with Lou Ellen and Will Solace, and occasionally with some other people from different cabins. The singing died eventually, and Chiron came up front to tell us about the recruiting of volunteers for picking up strawberries the next day, since they needed extra help. No hands raised. Then a small, delicate hand with long and thin fingers lifted up. It was Affie's. Everybody gasped. What if she was a daughter of Dionysus? Some pity looks went and came. Some girls from the Aphrodite cabin giggled with cruel satisfaction. And then, it happened. She gleamed with a beautiful pinkish red light, similar to her eye color, and a very gooey heart appeared upon her head. Silence fell upon everybody around the fire, and Chiron knelt.

"Hail Áfua Williams, daughter of Eros, lord of love and hearts." Chiron stated, and before I could think on what a weird name choice Áfua was, right in front of me, I could see how Will leaned over Affie and kissed her desperately, like he had suddenly noticed he needed her more than he needed to breathe. Lou Ellen was shocked, and looked as if she might try to interfere. For a second there, Affie stood motionless, and I almost thought she would retreat. But when she grabbed his shirt from over his chest to pull him closer, everything went dark. As if from far away, I heard soft surprise screams, and something cracked.


	3. Chapter 3: First flame

I woke up in the Aphrodite cabin, next to some girl it took me a couple secs to recognise as Piper. The cabin was incredibly neat and organised, all perfectly balanced: shapes, numbers, colors. Everything on its exact place. It kind of freaked me out a bit. I was never the perfectly organised type. I liked order, but I was never truly strict with myself on that, and my mother wasn't a order freak either. The thought of her made me remember all of a sudden the events of the day before. It all seemed to have happened through several days, yet all of them were part of the same day.

I had been kidnapped by what, back then, I thought was a guy with excessively hairy legs, who I later learnt was actually a satyr. I was a demigod. My mother hadn't just been dumped, she had been left because my dad had godly duties and a godly wife to attend. That didn't make me feel any better about him. If my mother hadn't married my stepdad, Fred, her life might've been miserable, and so might've been mine. So I was a half-blood, and I was in Camp Half-Blood, the only safe place on Earth for demigods not to get killed by monsters and stuff. I could talk _greek_. So much for my english teacher, who always told me I was useless for learning a second language. _There you have, mean lady_, celebrated my inner voice. I had discovered I could talk greek thanks to... oh my gods, Leo. He had been so nice to me the whole afternoon and I was so grateful to him, it hit me really hard when I saw the incredibly sad look in his eyes last night. He seemed so broken, and I had felt so helpless about him. I really, really liked Leo; to be honest, I had a huge crush on him. Although, after all the mud lady had said, I was so afraid of hurting him. She had told me I was going to go to a camp on a hill, I would find someone who would talk like me, and I'd smash him. Maybe she'd said it differently, but her spanish was terrible, seriously. I thought she was crazy at first, a ragged old lady on the streets who scared the living hell out of me when she grabbed my wrist on my way back to the hotel three nights ago, but something in her voice adviced me not to think of her words as meaningless. And then almost all of it had come true in one single day. I had met Leo, who was so handsome, and so nice. All I could think of was the constant sadness in his eyes, and how there was nothing I could do to help it. In fact, I was supposed to only make it worse. And when I got claimed by Eros, I got this terrible feeling I was going to break Leo's heart in the worst possible way, even when I had assured him I wouldn't.

Then, there was Will. He was really nice and I liked him, yet not in a romantic way. I don't want to sound as one of those girls constantly inclined to fall in love. That was not it. Nor it was me being a slut playing with all boys I liked. Actually, before the campfire, I didn't want to kiss Will. He was good-looking, nice and I felt attracted to him, but I felt nothing else. I still didn't quite understand what made me want to kiss him back last night. At first, I felt surprised, and I even felt the urge to pull back but, all of a sudden, I saw myself kissing him back. It was like one of those terrible omniscient dreams, where you watch yourself doing things, while you scream hopelessly, unable to change the course of things.

The only thing I'd done right the previous day was Lou Ellen. Lou had came up to me when dinner was done. We chatted for a while and I was shocked to discover how incredibly nice she was- considering all people in camp seemed a bit weary of Hecate's children. I hoped for her not to hate on me for what I'd done, but when we talked before going to sleep, she didn't. She said she was cool with it.

"Those Barbies from Aphrodite have been going after Will forever, good for you to free him."

Although what Lou told me afterwards didn't make me feel any better. She told me Leo had been standing there for a while after everybody had left, with that sad look he had given me, right after I kissed Will, still imprinted on his face. That had made my heart ache, but I did my best to hide it. Told myself that Leo had no romantic interest for me, but I did not want to accept that either.

It's incredible how much you can get to know certain people in a couple hours. I've spent several years with some people, and somehow I felt closer to Leo than to any of them. I didn't want to get out of bed. If I did, I would have to face the day. I would have to start putting furniture in my cabin, in which I hadn't slept last night 'cos it was completely empty, and it was a simple wooden structure, awaiting for the first child of some god they hadn't made a cabin for (aka Eros) to modify it according to its godly parent. And that child was me. Apparently Eros was pretty much faithful to Psyche most of the time, so his children were rare and not very frequent- something like one every couple of centuries, or so. And two hundred years ago, the last time there was a sibling demigod to me, non-Olympian gods had no cabins of their own for their children.

I just wanted to disappear. Become a beautiful butterfly, like Psyche, and make company to Leo whenever he seemed sad and lonely. _You look sad when nobody is looking at you_, I had thought when I first saw that expression on his face, the one of sorrow and despair, during dinner.

Piper woke up next to me. She had offered to sleep with me after some girls in the Aphrodite cabin had claimed they wanted to invite me stay in their cabin since we were 'almost sisters' and whatsoever, but none of them would let me sleep with them. She blinked a couple times, and it was incredible how she managed to look beautiful even when she'd just woken up. She was different from the other girls in the Aphrodite cabin. She wore no make up, and didn't seem as worried of her looks as the rest, although she was just as stunning as all her brethren.

"Hi" she said, her morning voice sleepy but somehow soft and delicate, glamorous. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, I was really comfortable, thanks" I told her, before she smiled to me, like saying _I know what you're thinking, I'm not mad at you for what happened last night_.

Eventually, all the cabin was up, taking showers and cleaning up the mess (was there any? 'Cos I could see no mess there) and everybody was getting ready for cabin inspection. I took notice of the guys sleeping behind a curtain, all of them quite handsome, but also a bit narcissistic, constantly checking their hair, and flexing their arms to see if they were built up enough. I thought the faster I got out of there, the better. Piper was nice, but excluding her, there were only two or three more people in the cabin who were truly nice. The rest pretty much sucked.

I had breakfast alone in a new table they had set up for me, since apparently no one had thought there could be any other children of Eros, or any other minor gods besides the ones they'd already considered, for that matter. Only two other guys were having breakfast on their own, although I could feel as if there was someone missing. An empty table that shouldn't be empty. As I was leaving the dining pavilion, Lou walked up to me, giving me a funny smirk like saying 'Hey girl, time to play some pranks.'

"So, I came to show you around. I guess no one has properly shown you the camp yet. Especially since your language issues yesterday. I bet that golden boy Will Solace never cared to do so." She joked, but I didn't laugh. Will's topic was mine zone, since I didn't know what to do of it. She nodded comprehensively, as if she knew what was I thinking about and understood.

That was when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Will Solace. He hadn't seen me yet, but it wouldn't take long for that to change. I must've had a pretty terrified expression, 'cos Lou took action almost immediately.

"So yeah, I must show you around." She said, a little louder than necessary. She wasn't really good at covert for obvious things, but I was grateful for the intention. By the time, Will had noticed I was going to lose all morning between that and the strawberry picking, I was long gone.

Lou showed me the volleyball courts, the Big House, the canoe lake, the amphitheater and the climbing wall, and although everything seemed between breathtaking dangerous or beautiful, my heart wasn't really into admiring the camp. She must've realised that, 'cos we moved quickly to the arena and the forges. When we walked past them, I wondered whether Leo was in there, with his brethren.

As if reading my thoughts, Lou shook her head. "He spends most of his time working in the woods. Yesterday was a lucky shot you found him in his cabin."

"What is he doing in the woods?"

"A flying trireme, if the gods allow it. I'm not supposed to know, but they've needed my help a couple of times. Magic is necessary sometimes, you know."

"So cool." I sighed. I must have had a pretty dreamy expression, 'cos Lou let go of a soft laugh. She was so nice and easygoing I thought I could ask her a couple out-of-the-tour questions. Concerns I've been accumulating along the tour, things that just popped in my mind. The kind of ridiculous things only you mother usually cares about but they end up to be important.

"I was wondering, since everything here is so different and all... what do you do with depilation? I mean, I'm pretty sure you can't just go to the city for waxing or whatever so...?" She smiled, about to crack up.

"Sorry" she apologised gasping for air. "Just that I think you're the first girl to come up with the important details right away. Most of them freak out about it when they already have the problem. Alright. Usually girls plea to Aphrodite's daughter but you have to either be besties with 'em or you gotta be willing to become a slave for a week or so. Obviously, if you know who to ask and are willing to pay, you can get it from the outside. Lucky for you, since we have a cabin of our own, we have a cosmetic line of potions and stuff. But it isn't all that easy."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, perfect legs for thirty days in a bottle sounds pretty dreamy, but it ain't. You have to endure a pain equal to twice the waxing pain. Bearable, but unpleasant. If you wanna go through it, is all yours. Just keep an eye on the deadline. You don't wanna go a day without the potion effect after you've started taking it. You'll become some sort of Chewbacca." I laughed, so did she. Okay, so one problem solved.

"What about period? I mean a lot of action goes around here, it's not like you can just excuse yourself like 'I'm sorry, I can't swim, I'm on my most special days, I don't believe the naiads will appreciate it if I...' you know? What do you use? Tampons?"

"Yeah. It's a torture at the beginning, but you get used to it. Most of us also take use anticonceptive pills or potions, because reduces the amount of days you gotta wear those things." I thought they would have some sort of magic spell for not having to deal with it, but I guess you can't go against mother nature. At least now I wouldn't have to worry about those things anymore, Ii already knew how to deal with them at camp.

After the forges, we came into the armoury. Lou seemed pretty bored about it, but she was clearly looking forward checking if she could choose the right weapon for the child of Eros, being I a rare specimen and all that. I hated the idea of being a miracle between gods and humans, but I hated even more being some sort of limited edition. First, she asked me if I had ever fought with any weapons in the past. My obvious answer was no, but then I remembered the wooden sword fights I would have with my cousins when I was little. Did that count? I wasn't sure, so I didn't tell her a thing about it. She glanced, though, at a beautiful silvery blade. She shook her head. She went deeper into the armoury and came back with a bow and an empty quiver. The bow was incredibly beautiful, made of some pale wood and delicately carved drawings of leaves and blooming lilies on its surface. I liked lilies, my mom knew a lot about flowers, and she told me once lilies were a symbol of love. A tenderer one than roses. I could tell it was a rather basic design, not a very complicated weapon, it had a leather grip on the centre and the quiver was made of marble or something, if I wasn't mistaken, yet when I took it on my hands it was as light as if it had been made of cardboard. Even though it was a magnificent set, something told me it wasn't meant for doing just the right thing.

"You know, that's no regular weapon" she explained. "Even when Eros was given cult in some places and for some time, he was greater between the romans, yet never worshipped by them. Cupid is more popular, isn't he? That's because greeks usually blamed all love problems on Aphrodite, even if it was her son the one causing trouble. Of course, most of the time, Eros was just following orders from the other gods, taking revenges for them with his bow and arrows. The one who made this bow, was trying to make a replica of Artemis' but when he figured the goddess might find that offensive (a mere mortal trying to craft her weapon), he changed in the middle of his crafting to make it look as much as possible as Eros'. He still was turned into a pig or something, but that was just Apollo finding outrageous the crafter never attempted to make a replica of his bow." She finished with an expression which meant _gods_ the way you would say 'men, they're all the same, and they never change'. "Shoot" she instructed me, pointing a target on one of the walls.

"I have no arrows" I told her, thinking how strange it was she hadn't noticed so.

"Just put on the quiver and take out an arrow and shoot" she insisted.

I did what she said. I put on the quiver, and grabbed the bow with my right hand. I felt that déjà vu sensation when I lifted the bow and pulled my left arm back to pick an arrow. At first, there was nothing, as I expected, but a second later, I found myself touching a stick and pulling it out, until a beautiful arrow was on my hand, ready for being shot. I tensed the bow and let go. It was the best feeling ever. I probably looked pretty funny, since I didn't know how to stand or grab anything the right way, yet Lou was staring at me in awe.

"Impressive" she said. "The name of that bow is _Kardiochtýpi_, which means 'heartbeat'. I guess you know how the quiver works. If you make arrows of your own, and put them in there, you'll never lose them. Even after shot. They'll just return to you." _How cool _was all I got to think. I felt a little embarrassed when I noticed I was acting like a little girl but, so far, this was one of the best things that had happened to me since I had come to camp. Everything felt unknown and alien to me, but when I shot that arrow, everything had fallen on its very place, at least for a second.

"I love it" I told Lou, and then I forced myself to look at the target to see how I'd done. It was a perfect shot. And somehow, I could tell that it was in the perfect centre, not a millimetre wrong. That scared me a bit.

We walked out the armoury, but I felt different. I felt as if some before lost part of me had been taken back to me. Yet my incredible aim had made fear cut deep in me. And being scared of yourself is never a good thing. I thought of that all morning, while picking strawberries.

I walked back to my cabin by myself. Now there was a bed inside, over the polished, impeccable, pale wooden floor. I figured it would take me a couple days to be done with the decoration and everything, so I left my bow and quiver over the floor as I came in and I fell onto the bed, exhausted. Soon there'd be lunch, but until then I was free. Since I was supposed to take care of fixing my cabin, I wouldn't have to attend any camp activities unless I wanted to. In two days I'd have to set a activity scheme with Chiron, but I'd worry about that later. I came out of the cabin a couple minutes after collapsing over my bed, wanting to go to the shore, see if I could think things through. Leo-related things and Will-related things. But those things did not seem able to wait for me to reach the beach, 'cos just as I was going down the little staircase in the porch-like entrance of my cabin, I saw dark wavy hair and pointy ears at one side of my cabin. Leo. It looked like he had come without having made up his mind, 'cos he was shifting back and forth, his back facing me, his hands tapping restlessly his pants at both sides.

"Leo?" I asked. He turned around, completely surprised, and when he saw me, he frowned and I tried to walk away. I managed to stop him, grabbing him by his wrist. "Leo, wait. I need to talk to you."

He faced me, but he didn't seem interested in talking to me. His internal struggle wasn't done yet, and the option of letting me lose him, as a friend or whatever, looked like the winning one. I didn't seem to be making that option any damage by appearing right then. His eyes showed me he was hurt, and for the first time ever, I wished he would pretend he was fine.

"What do you want?" He asked, clearly making a great effort for saying it.

"I just wanted to explain..."

"Jeez, you know something, Williams? I usually don't get girls, but you don't make it any easier. What do you wanna explain? Last night events? You owe me no explanations for that. I'm no one to tell you who to date. You're free to make your own choices."

"Iif that's so, why are you mad then..."

"I'm not mad." You know, before, I was worried I might have wounded him somehow. I was afraid of losing his trust or his friendship, or both. I liked Leo, alright, I had a huge crush on him. But that gave him no right to be such a jerk about it. I hadn't realised that by then, a couple curious faces were surrounding us.

"Yes you are."

"No, I'm not!" His cheeks were red. And he was steaming. Like, literally steaming.

"Oh my gods, Valdez! If you wanna be mad about it, be mad, but I told you to stop this faking nonsense! I didn't want to kiss Will, I know it's a shitty excuse, but I simply wasn't able to control the situation!"

His expression shifted to one that read _unbelievable_. "You kissed him back!" By then, Leo was burning with rage. But I'm not trying to sound poetic, he was _literally_ burning with rage. Everybody gasped. I was too angry to stand back just because the guy had went all 'Flame on!' mode.

"So you _are_ mad about it."

"Williams, I couldn't care less."

"That's so much for someone who's turned into the Human Torch. You know what, Valdez? _Vete a la mierda*_. I'm done with you here." I stormed out, leaving a lot of puzzled expressions, some people wondering what had I said, some others wondering whether they'd have to call the firefighters for extinguishing Leo. I walked towards the beach, where I originally intended to go. Stupid, stupid Leo. Didn't he see I really didn't care for Will at all? It was all a confusion and I still didn't understand how could I've kissed Will last night. Probably Aphrodite didn't like me. Probably my father was resentful with me for existing. Blaming my problems on the gods didn't make them any easier to deal with. I missed my mother; she always had an answer for everything, a solution for any problem. What did she believe had happened to me? Was she alright? Was there anything I could do for contacting her? I really missed her.

* * *

**Translations:**

*It literally means 'go to shit' (as if shit were a place) but that's not an accurate translation. 'Go to hell' or 'fuck you' are more accurate.


	4. Chapter 4: Tough girl

The beach was empty. It had a soft breeze that gave the place a perfectly nice temperature. The waves crushed silently, somehow sadly. I felt like the ocean wanted to cry, and maybe it was the sadness of the sea that hit me, but I started crying as well. I lifted my hands to wipe the tears. No use for a crying baby. Not here, not now, not nowhere, not ever. But then I realised I was alone and something in the salty tears from the sea that the breeze helped to hit my face, told me no one ever came to the shore. At least, not lately._ Not since that boy Percy has gone missing_, I guessed. Lou told me a little about that, after I asked her why did Annabeth always have a sad gaze.

I sat and cried. I didn't know exactly what for. I thought I had been wanting to cry since the satyr took me away from my mother, but I would let no one see me cry. Sadness was not an emotion I could easily share. Why was my dad a god? Did that mean I had some sort of superpowers? 'Cos if I had, being the child of Eros, they probably were some really lame ones, like super-cutesy-winking and never-fading kiss marks.

"Not at all, child" a beautiful, singing-like voice told me. It's beyond question the woman who had suddenly appeared next to me scared me to death. I couldn't quite make out her shape. She had long black, glossy hair; and ghostly pale skin. Shiny onyx eyes. I somehow knew it couldn't be true, but I gasped.

"Mummy?" I asked, and the second the word left my lips I knew she wasn't my mother. She was wearing perfect make up and some really expensive perfume. My mother never wore make up, she didn't need it. And she only wore water of lilies, no other scent nor perfume.

"No, sweetie, but I'm flattered. Mothers are usually the most beautiful women in the world for their children, so thinking I look like her is compliment enough for me, my dear." I thought a little harder, but her image shifted a bit and went back to look like my mum.

"Aphrodite." I stated. I was sure. I'd had my bit of greek mythology, since I loved all fantasy novels and stories; and greek myths were a must. Although as things turned out, those weren't myths anymore.

"Well, aren't you smart, my dear? Yes, I am Aphrodite, the goddess of love, beauty, pleasure and procreation. Often blamed by the actions of your father. Do you know why?"

"Uh, because they think you plan all love affairs since you're the goddess of love?"

"Yes, quite. But thing is, I'm the goddess of love in its ways of beauty and pleasure. Your father is the god of love, but the love that attracts and desires."

I looked at my nails, nervously. "Are you telling me my father is the god of sex or what?" There was no way of saying it in a more maidenly way, so I just let it out.

Aphrodite laughed, and I was struck to notice even her laugh was gorgeous. "My girl, attraction and desire are not just about sex. Love is a mix of them. When you feel attracted to someone, and when you desire someone, are two different situations, but when they both happen at the same time towards the same person, you might say you're in love."

I thought about it for a while, but I didn't agree. Maybe attraction, desire, pleasure and beauty were factors that had a role to play in love but, at least for me, love itself wasn't about them. It was about caring, about giving it all. It was about the sincere need to see the other one happy, wasn't it? I didn't tell Aphrodite so, though. I thought maybe my opinion might be a bit unpopular, and so far I thought it better to stay in good terms with the goddess.

"Do you know what happened last night? Why I kissed Will even when I..." I couldn't finish the question, the anger filled me again, knowing Leo had been pretending so hard he didn't care. Or maybe he finally wasn't faking, and that was what made me angry instead.

"When you like that Leo boy?" She finished for me. The face she made while saying Leo's name spoke by itself. _I don't know what do you see in him_. I was pretty sure my face was completely red. "Yes, that's part of the claiming, a 'congratulations' kiss. The rest is part of your charm. My children may inherit charmspeak, but Eros'... they turn to go a bit straighter to the point. You saw how it worked earlier that night."

"Earlier that night...?" Oh, she meant when I was talking to Will next to his cabin. We had actually started talking because Lou left us alone (traitor). Such a smooth move, Will did not see that as an encouragement at all. He asked me whether I was the new girl and we got caught up on a conversation about pasta. It wasn't romantic at all, very friendly, right up until the moment I started wondering whether I could find Leo again.

"You know, those are some of your powers. People say love is powerless, meaningless, useless and lame. But they all say that because they are resentful of it in one or another way. You have to learn to control your emotions, sweetheart. Otherwise, you'll continue messing with other people's feelings. What you spread, is what will come back to you. You were bursting with so much excitement and dreamy happiness after your afternoon with the boy you like, it hit Will pretty hard. I guess after the claiming, he couldn't fight the urge of having you. You gave in because it's your nature. Letting people love you, making them believe they're corresponded. Fleeing afterwards so they can't blame it on you." I stared at the goddess in speechless horror. Was she telling me I could make anyone want to be with me, and I'd let them kiss me or do even worse things 'cos that was my nature? She must've been kidding me. That was so, so not me. But then again, Will had kissed me, and I gave in. I gave in and the morning after I avoided him instead of coming out clear as I should've.

_No_, I thought. _I will prove her wrong_. I was mad, very mad. Maybe I should've thought better of it, calm down, take a deep breath. But that... woman, she was telling me I was some sort of restrained slut, and I only had to gave in completely to my true self and become the camp's whore. And there we had a huge disagreement. Maybe my 'charm' made me kiss Will, but there was no way that had something, _anything_ to do with Leo or any guy I'd ever liked.

"You're wrong. About love, about me, about everything. The eons have taught you wrong 'cos maybe, after all this time, you haven't truly loved once. You mistake love for lust, and that's a terrible error."

"Watch your words girl, I do not forget those who offend me, nor am I merciful with my punishments."

"Save your threats for the ones who are scared of you. I do not agree with the way you portray love. I must believe love stands for more than beauty or desire. I must believe my dad stands for the kind of love you do not believe of. I do not fear you, Aphrodite. In fact, I pity your sad view of love. I pity the greeks who've worshipped you for eons."

The goddess figure had changed. She was no longer my mother, and I could not make out a precise shape out of her, yet she was still undoubtedly beautiful. She was turning brighter and brighter, and I knew I had to look away. How, no idea, but something in my gut told me to close my eyes or prepare to disintegrate.

"_Fire will burn and your love will burn with it_, girl. There will be nothing left, 'cos even the ashes will ignite and disappear. You'll die painfully and slowly, longing for the love you'll never achieve." And with such a charming farewell, light shone, and by the time I opened my eyes, Aphrodite was gone. I shivered. I knew I had made a really wrong choice by standing against her, but I couldn't stop it. I couldn't fight the urge of telling her she was a jerk 'cos I really needed and wanted to do so.

I figured I would have to deal with revengeful goddesses later. 'Cos right then, I had to deal with a more immediate problem, and that was Will, walking towards me. His face let me knew he clearly thought we were going out or something.

"Hey, babe" he said, putting his hands on my shoulders and kissing my forehead gently. It truly hurt me to think about what I was going to do when he treated me so nicely. I hated having to break his heart just to prove a point. _And to be free_, a gentle voice reminded me.

"Hey Will" I said with fragile voice. I didn't mean to be that melodramatic, but it simply turned out that way.

"Is there anything wrong? Did you miss me?" He apparently hadn't listened to my fight with Leo, and no one had had the heart to tell him about it just yet. Maybe it was better this way, if he heard it from me.

"Listen Will, there's something I've been meaning to tell you about what happened last night..."

"Yeah, last night was amazing, wasn't it? Do you remember...?" He kissed my cheek. "It was most wonderful." He kissed me right on the corner of my lips, and then he simply kissed me. And there was it again, the dreadful feeling of not being able to control myself. Of me just mirroring his actions. I could hear Aphrodite's voice in my head._ You gave in 'cos it's your nature_. I drew myself back.

"Will, stop. I mean it, I gotta tell you something important." He came back close.

"Always so distant" He kissed me again, more demanding of obedience. _Distant_? What was he _talking_ about? We had just met the day before, we were sort of together but we had no real story, nor a real relationship. How could I _always_ be distant? His hands were hyperactive, brushing against my clothes. I took a step back.

"You really need to listen, Will. I mean it." But he just shushed me and kissed me again, and although I knew that was not okay, it was really hard to fight against it. I was simply making him grow impatient, and now his hands were trying to explore under my shirt. I suddenly got extremely scared.

"I told you to stop it! Listen to me!" I pleaded, yet he was no longer in his senses. Curse Aphrodite. I was pretty sure this was her doing, part of her revenge. I had a guy with a really huge need of me and I didn't know how to make him stop. He knocked me to the sand and started kissing me again, and since the beach was deserted, there was absolutely no one there who could help me.

"Will this is not you. This is some Aphrodite's curse, 'cos no way this is my _charm_. SNAP OUT OF IT!" I could hear the goddess' voice in my head. _Giving in would be way easier. I am not merciful when it comes to punishments_. Part of him seemed to recover a bit of his senses because he froze for a couple seconds. I knew it was my only chance and I slapped him, got to my feet and started running away as fast as I could. After a split second, he went back to zombie mode and chased after me. I wished I had my bow and quiver with me, but there was nothing I could do about it. I took my chances with my last card. I started a prayer. _Gods, I know you're having a strike up there in Olympus but I'd really appreciate it if you could help me here. I've got the impression this is all part of Aphrodite's revenge. Take pity on me, send help_.

Yet it seemed I was on my own, so I stopped running. If I had to deal with him by myself, running was no use. He was faster and in better physical conditions than me. My only chance of talking my way into his mind was confronting him. I took off my converse and aimed at his head. I didn't miss.

"Hey, you stupid hormonal moron" I told him, because I no longer knew if sweet talk would help me with this. "You do not love me. You are obsessed with me 'cos you're projecting your feelings over me."

He seemed dubitative for a while. Maybe I had finally cracked the spell casted over him. Or maybe I had just lured it for a bit and got through his zombie state. Whatever it was, I prayed I could continue doing it.

"Yeah, that's right. You are in love with some other girl at camp. One of those Aphrodite daughters." I took my best guess, and his eyes sparkled. Hey, I was getting good at this. Maybe I could make a living out of it. One of those lame love-consultants who won millions out of lying. I wouldn't lie, though. "You are in love with her but you're just too coward to tell her, so you reflect your feelings over me and you think I can fill the emptiness she creates in you, but that's so very wrong. Get over it. Walk up to her and tell her you love her. Be a man."

So when I thought I had finally talked him out of it, he started moving towards me. Apparently I had just convinced his zombie mind to try harder... with me. No help had come. One thing was clear. I had to fix this myself, that was the message the gods were sending me. This one was a problem _I_ had to solve, this was my fight. So when I saw Leo running towards us, all I could think of was_ fuck my life_.

"Hey!" He yelled at Will. "Leave her alone!"

You know, for a second there, Leo in blue-prince-to-the-rescue mode was really, really attractive. I almost felt like taking out some pom-poms and cheering him like a perfect american cheerio. 'Who is from cabin nine and smoking hot? Leo! Who can make your heart race with all he's got? Valdez! L-e-o! Team Leo! Hurray!' But I'm so not the cheerio type. Also, he was going to ruin it all. I was no damsel in distress. I was fully capable of taking care of my own freaking problems.

"Stay out of this, Valdez!" I told him, stupidly putting my guard down to yell at him.

"I'm just trying to help you!" He explained, as if it wasn't obvious what was he planning to do.

"Really? It never crossed my mind you were coming to help me. I thought you were going to join this imbecile and..." I turned to Will to point at him as I said 'imbecile' and I saw getting distracted to start an argument with Leo hadn't been my wisest choice. I cursed under my breath. Somehow, I knew what I had to do. I hated Leo for intervening, if he hadn't, maybe I could've solved this by using my wits, but now I would just have to recur to the easiest way out. I took of my remaining converse and aimed to the exact middle between his eyebrows. The sneaker hit him _real_ hard, and a chill ran through me, 'cos I hadn't thrown it with much strength. Will fell, knocked out. "I hate morons." I stated, before taking of my hairpin and turning to Leo. I threw the hairpin at his forehead, and although he only let out a lame 'ouch' I knew it had hurt. I walked up to him.

"You fucked it up! I had to talk him out of it! Now I don't know if he's completely free of the spell, you fool!"

He simply smirked. "You have such a filthy mouth, Williams." He pointed out. "I was simply trying to help you."

"I don't think I need your help, do you? I was perfectly capable of handling things on my own."

"Were you? If I don't recall wrong, as I was trying to catch my breath running as fast as I could towards you, this idiot was about to get lucky with you."

"He was under a spell! He was never interested in me! Nor was I interested in him, I was just being framed by Aphrodite, that shameless bitch. Part of it might've been my so called charm, but it had nothing to do with Will going all zombie-like. That was her doing, he probably won't remember a thing when he wakes up. If he has snapped out of it when he does." Understanding crossed his eyes, and his expression changed. His tense shoulders relaxed a bit and he sighed.

"You could've gotten hurt." He seemed so concerned my arms itched for hugging him. But the voices in my head made me think better of it. _You'll smash him_, the mud lady had said. _You'll die painfully and slowly, longing for the love you'll never achieve_; had said Aphrodite instead. I gave him a soft smile.

"C'mon, Valdez. We gotta tell Piper I didn't strike you too hard with that hairpin." I took his hand.

"What does Piper have to do with any of this?" He asked, but I didn't need to answer. He'd just seen Piper and Jason walking down to us. He made an annoyed expression, yet he didn't let go of my hand, which was enough for me to forgive him for faking not getting angry at me. "We could use Jason to carry that guy." He admitted, pointing to Will. I liked the way he'd said 'that guy'. It sounded as if he was jealous. Maybe Leo could be a pain in the ass, but he was really cute when he was jealous.


	5. Chapter 5: Butterfly tattoo

I had been given a bath by some thoughtful girl from the Demeter cabin. How nice. Jason and Piper had come forward then, when the rumour I was burning had finally reached them. They made the crowd go back to their duties and Jason gifted me a entertained look.

"So much for not fighting. Why do you always have to give such a show?" He joked. We laughed. Then Piper gave us a dreadful look. We shut up.

"Do you know you just exposed yourself in front of all the camp, Leo? That's no good." Girls, always delivering the bad news. Excellent party poopers. They escorted me to my cabin where I put on some dry clothes. Then I walked out and started walking towards the beach.

"Just where do you think you're going?" Piper demanded. I saw Jason mouthing to me the words 'I'll take care of it' so I just turned and started running. Soon enough I was no longer on the reach of Piper's charmspeak. As I was coming into the beach, I saw a couple kissing on the shoreline. My blood was boiling when I recognised Affie's multicolour hair brushing against Will's face. She said she didn't want to kiss him, so why was she doing it _again_.

I was about to turn around when I heard some yelling, and I looked back at them just to see Will knocking Affie to the ground. The terrified 'SNAP OUT OF IT!' definitely reached me, and before I could command it, my legs were taking me full speed down to the coast. I could just helplessly stare at the scene while as I was getting closer. Somehow, she got away and was now running from him. But then she stopped and turned to Will, and I thought I must've imagined it, because she threw one of her converse at him and started yelling, like one would yell a very narrow-minded ten year old for being naughty. Gee, even _I_ wished she wouldn't get angry at me. She was more than intimidating with her sneakers and her exhausted patience than anything I had seen before, and I had seen quite a bit. I had faced a really nasty angry snow goddess and yet this Affie, who had lost her temper, frightened me even more.

When I came in with my best 'Leo to the rescue' queue, I never imagined she would be even madder at me for trying to help her. _Hey, I wasn't the one trying to get lucky with you_, I almost blurted out. I ended up starting a discussion, but she was not in for it, she had to take care of her problems before. She knocked out Will with her remaining converse like he was nothing. Dude, the girl knocked out a six feet tall guy with a _freaking sneaker_. A chill run through me and I swallowed; she stated how she hated morons and I just nodded. Gods, wasn't she amazing. I had never seen something like that. I got out of my trance by... was that thing a _hairpin_? Jeez, those hair accessories makers didn't know how dangerous their products were, 'cos that had hurt like hell.

She started yelling at me and I could only think of what a filthy mouth she had. She could've gotten suspended even more than me. And to think I had thought she was very lady-like at first glance which didn't make me think of her any lesser, though. It was almost something to list on the good things. Then she took me from my dreamy state and one way or another I saw myself arguing with her. I didn't know how, but she was so beautiful while yelling at me, that wild sparkle in her eyes when she was mad. It was almost addictive, and it was just so easy to argue with her. I had liked a lot of girls in my life, but I couldn't quite figure out what did she make me feel. Sometimes I felt totally breathtaken, others confused, others just mad and gods, she mainly drove me insane and I had barely known her just for two days. I couldn't imagine what a torment (sweet torment) would be my life if this became a routine.

I felt like a puppet when she took my hand and made me walk towards my friends. Jason gave me an apologetic smile like 'sorry dude, she has charmspeak and really good kisses on her side', while Piper looked at me in a way that made me really nervous. She'd been a rebel back in Wilderness School, but now she was dating Jason, she was a little nervous and it seemed she tried to impress him by being bossy, or maybe she'd turned a bit bossy since I'd been able to make Jason relax a bit. I would never know. She kept glancing back and forth me, Affie, and our interlaced fingers. I'd had the urge to pull my hand back when she had taken it with hers, but it had also been itching for a while right up until then, and when I did nothing and just held her hand, it felt good. Almost right, like it was meant to be or something, so I had stopped thinking about it, 'cos it made me feel too awkwardly good I thought I might start to get sick.

"What happened here?" Piper asked, taking notice of the unconscious Will behind us.

"Uh..." I started. I didn't know what to tell them, the truth seemed a bit too surreal for being believable. Thanks the gods, Affie talked so I didn't stand there mumbling like a stupid.

"It was a curse and my... _charm_ mixed together. I, uhm, had to knock him out." She admitted, clearly uncomfortable with it.

"With what?" Asked Jason, legitimate doubt, since Affie didn't look like could take Will on hand to hand combat.

"With my converse?" She said, a little embarrassed, although I couldn't tell whether it was for being so cool or for what she believed a lame weapon choice. Jason whistled. Piper asked about the curse stuff and Affie started explaining about her encounter with Aphrodite. Jason approached me slowly.

"Knocked out a guy with a sneaker and stood up against Aphrodite? Dude, you sure like them tough." He murmured. Then he must've noticed the scratch on my forehead. "What's that?"

"Hairpin" I mumbled, ashamed.

Jason patted me on the back. "My congratulations, man."

Then we were forced by Piper to go to the Big House, since she didn't like the thing about Affie's charm. I had to agree they were a bit creepy after what I saw at the beach, but after that scene I also had to admit any guy who tried to get too smart with her was in a way worse position than her. On our walk there, Jason and Piper were ahead of us, and I was incredibly weary of Affie's hand in mine and her left shoulder rubbing occasionally against my arm. That was somehow reassuring, 'cos there were only few girls whose shoulders wouldn't rub against mine, or even worse, against my face. Silence went and came, but it wasn't necessarily a bad thing. She was the first to break it.

"I was really scared" she said under her breath, very quietly, like it was a truly dark secret it had taken her a lot of courage to tell. "For a moment there, I felt so vulnerable, and I thought that maybe, maybe..." she didn't finish, but I could feel her shivering at the thought which completed the phrase. I couldn't wrap my mind around the fact that the angry beauty who had stood completely flawless on the beach was the same scared girl shivering next to me. Maybe that is what they call adrenaline shots. Maybe that's why most of us demigods were diagnosed with ADHD... 'cos we were meant for battle, but out of it, we were just as most people: weak, scared, vulnerable. I tightened my grip on her hand.

"It's okay, Affie. Nothing happened." I reminded her.

"But what if..."

"_I_ would've kicked his butt instead and would've knocked him out." I assured her. She seemed to have calmed down, 'cos she was no longer shivering. I felt strangely protective of her, like I would never let anything happen to her, at any cost. Like if I could prevent her from any harm, and that was uncommon, 'cos next to Jason and Piper, I usually felt powerless. They were both so cool and they complimented each other so well, I could barely understand why did they still let me hang around them. I was just a third wheel.

As we came next to the Big House, Affie and I simultaneously loosened the grip on each other's hand and let them hang awkwardly next to us. Was having a free hand this weird before? It had been just a couple of minutes, but it was more than enough to make my hand convinced its only duty was to hold Affie's. A chill went down my spine. What was I _thinking_ about?

Chiron was standing outside, talking to Lou and Annabeth who were conveniently explaining the Leo-on-fire situation in some strange way it took all blame from us magically. Well, almost all blame. Annabeth gave me a hateful look though, and I reminded myself never to make her angry again. She was like the mother I never wanted to have. Almost as scary as Affie when she was truly furious. Piper came forward and explained the situation as well. Chiron made us come inside and we had to discuss the matter.

"First things first, the prophecy" Piper said once we were all around the ping-pong table where usually council meetings were held. Someone had brought nachos. I immediately picked some.

"Isn't there any guacamole for these?" Someone asked clearly referring to the nachos. I noticed afterwards the voice came from next to me, where Affie stood. Gods. I could've almost married her right there. I thought I was the only one who had ever thought of that. I seriously could've, except Annabeth was giving Affie a warning, and uhm, it would've been awkward to just actually marry her on the spot. Yeah, overthinking stupid thoughts, totally not my thing. Now I was jumpy 'cos I'd been thinking to marry the girl next to me, even if not deadly serious. Luckily for me, we went back to the serious life-or-death stuff.

"Which prophecy?" Affie asked, as if apologising for having interrupted before. She still looked a bit offended, as if her question for the guacamole had been a legitimate motion. I made the mental note of inviting her to have outlaw lunch with me in the woods sometime. Tacos or quesadillas. And guacamole.

"The one Aphrodite spoke of" Annabeth explained, since she had already been updated on the recent events. "Not all of her words were threats, Affie. Some of them were fragments of a prophecy, she was probably so angry she let you know serious stuff about your future so you would know of a future you could not avoid."

"How charming" Jason stated. You see, when Jason was a roman in his roman camp, he was mostly serious and a really non-sarcastic, not-joking guy. But here at camp he had relaxed a bit, learnt how to be occasionally a pain in the ass, as all guys should be. I doubted it would last (I was pretty sure whenever we began our quest, he'd go back to be a responsible guy) but for now he was doing pretty well. Obviously, all three of them, Piper, Annabeth and Chiron blamed me for it. I didn't mind. Geniuses were usually misunderstood.

"You mean that '_Fire will burn and your love will burn with it_' thing? Well, it was definitely creepy, so if prophecies are supposed to freak you out, it is definitely prophecy material." Affie said. The room fell silent. This silence made me uncomfortable, it was different from walking with Affie without saying a thing. This one felt empty, dreadful.

"Well, whether it is or not, we will definitely have to consult our expert." We all knew who Lou was talking about, but Affie spoke.

"Which expert?" So Annabeth spent two minutes explaining her about Rachel, our hostess of the Oracle of Delphi. She was cool almost all the time, except when she turned into green-mist-creator mode and spilled out riddles about how all of us were supposed to die. Just your everyday death sentence mistress. I assumed we were done, and I was about to take my leave, when Chiron reminded us that we still had to see to the Affie's-powers subject. He said that it was private to her, so she first had to decide whether she wanted for him to share the information he had with all of us, or just with her. She said she was cool with all of us knowing. Chiron said it would be better if she explained the notions she had so far herself, and then he would see if he knew anything else. Since Eros' children were unusual, he had taught not many of them, and had seen even fewer using their powers.

"Aphrodite said something of me changing people's emotions. I think she was trying to mess with the idea I should have of my powers, 'cos I think it doesn't work the way she explained. She said 'what you spread, is what comes back to you' and I think is a more subtle thing. People just tend to like me if I'm happy, or they tend to feel wrathfully if I'm mad at the moment. It is some sort of mirroring effect and, as far as I know, the strongest is love. Isn't it? She called it _charm_."

Chiron nodded. So Will's situation had come up like that. Wait, why was she feeling in love? I felt suddenly dizzy and I abruptly blushed. I wished everybody would be really concentrated in Affie and her powers so they wouldn't notice me. She had spent the whole afternoon with me before talking to Will. Well, she had also shared with the Hermes cabin before that, but I had a chance, right? _What does it matter if you have a chance or not, Valdez?_ A voice asked in my head. _Oh, no civil war between you_, I warned my thoughts.

"That's all I know about them, do you know anything else, Chiron?" She asked hopefully, clearly wanting to be told something good came with that charm. Something told me it was way worse than it sounded. She could influence the way people felt, and I think that might make her wonder who enjoy her company for real.

"Well it depends, we could check it out. _Parli italiano*_?" Chiron tried. At first I didn't recognise the language, but then I figured it was italian. It sounded quite similar to spanish, I could almost be sure of what had he asked her.

"_No, io non parlo italiano. Perché me lo chiedi**_?" She seemed puzzled. Apparently she didn't notice she was talking in another language.

"I asked you because you make us all speak fluent greek so you can understand us, and you didn't notice I just changed to italian, nor you noticed you answered me in perfect italian as well. That's because as Aphrodite's children are usually able to speak the language she has chosen as the language of love: french; Eros' children are usually able to speak the language he considers most romantic: italian." He made a pause, as if for Affie had anything to say, but her expression summed it up pretty well. 'Cool' it appeared to say. "Besides that and your excellent aim, which can be better than some Apollo's children's, and I believe you have already seen in action" he pointed with his eyes at Will, passed out in the couch, where we had forgotten him to start the improvised council. "I don't know of any other abilities, if there're any."

With that, we were dismissed. We all had to go back to our duties. It was past lunch time, so we were allowed to pick up some food from the Big House and have a little break to eat, so we wouldn't skip lunch. Chiron seemed just a little too tired after the talk, as if he feared for our future, and the prophecy stuff had been wearing him out. I had always thought he seemed ageless, but for the first time, I could catch a glimpse of his old age. Annabeth left us saying how she was going to skip lunch for planning stuff, and gave me a '_you should do it too and go back to work on the ship_' look. Even though I was dying for skipping a meal and go immediately back to hard work, I had to sacrifice myself to check things off my mental list, and take Affie for a lunch in the woods. _Sorry, Annabeth_, I thought.

Thankfully, I didn't have to make awkward excuses because Jason and Piper took their leave almost as soon as Annabeth was gone. _Such incredible senses of duty_. But it was mainly because the deadline was still far away, and the thought of loading ourselves on some life-threatening adventure wasn't exactly what any of us longed for. If I worked harder this afternoon, I could make up for the lost time. The only one who couldn't wait was Annabeth, and we didn't blame her. It was terribly hard for her, since going to a camp full of romans who would probably want to kill us on sight was her only hope for retrieving her boyfriend. I didn't know how that must feel, and I was sure I didn't want to figure it out.

"I have stuff to do, Affie, so I'll see you later" had said Lou, but she wasn't smooth at trying to do things covertly. Like leaving me and Affie alone, for instance. When we were alone I cleared my throat. She looked up to me, and once again I thought how incredibly nice was to have someone else doing that for a change.

"So... if you have nothing to do... I thought maybe-" I got immediately interrupted.

"Have lunch with you?" She asked. I winced, was that such a bad idea? "I'd love to." I opened my eyes, reluctantly. Maybe she had been kidding, and was now waiting with a scorning smirk. But no, for unbelievable it could be, she was just there, softly smiling to me. _This one must be my lucky day_. I put on my confident grin and started walking towards the woods, where at someplace near Bunker 9 I had my emergency kitchen, the one I used when I got too caught up building the Argo II and I found out I had missed lunch.

At some point, her shoulder started brushing awkwardly against my arm, and I felt that void-in-my-gut feeling I usually got when I was about to do scary stuff, like when I was little and I had to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night; or when I had to stand up for other girls at pre-school and kill the terribly disgusting insects that appeared from time to time in the classroom, like cockroaches or freakishly big moths. Now, after all I'd been through, I'd be glad to go back doing the exterminator job, but when I was three years old, those things didn't make me scared, but they were so repulsive it wasn't easy to 'be a man' and kill the damn things. Affie did scare me, but not in the 'ugh-so-repulsive' kind of way, but in the 'oh-I-don't-know-what-to-do-what-if-I-look-stupid' kind of way. Nobody had told me just yet I was almost always really stupid around girls, and I couldn't make it any worse here, so I shouldn't get all nervous, but I did. I moved my hand just a bit, a single millimetre, only enough to 'accidentally' hit hers, but the moment they did, she reached for mine and I didn't pull away. That simple gesture was more than enough for me. It made my heart all crazy, racing like I had just killed a thousand Earthborn. I didn't know whether it was good for my health, but if it was killing me somehow, I would've to die sooner, 'cos I wasn't letting go.

"Are your hands always this cold?" I asked, so I could stop thinking about it, but I realised a bit late I had now pointed out the fact we were holding hands. Even though it was the second time in a row, saying it aloud made it somehow more real, as if putting it into words made us fully aware of it.

"They could be colder" she said. She acted like all of this was so natural, but then again, I was the one with no people-skills. Maybe it wasn't that difficult nor that nicely-threatening to her. "My little sister used to call me Lizzie, as short for lizard. She spoke english since little, due to our dad; unlike me, because I never wanted to learn. I have been always cold, and on sunny afternoons I would rest outside, reading, letting the sun warm me up."

"Lizzie, huh?" I told her, flavouring the nick-name. It somehow suited her. "What if I start calling you that?"

She looked at me, alarmed. "Oh, please, don't, I hated when she did so-" too late. I had already made up my mind. Wonderful nick-name. One that's cute but also bothered her. Also, not to be mean, but her name sucked.

"So, Lizzie. You were telling me you never wanted to learn english. Why?" She gave me a poisoned look. I smiled.

"Because spanish is beautiful." She said it as if it was the obvious, only possible answer. "People go on and on about how french or italian are the most romantic languages but I never got what they meant. I don't know how _je t'aime_, _ti amo_, _eu te amo_, _aishiteru_,_ jag älskar dig_, _ich liebe dich_,_ s 'agapó_ or _I love you_ are any more beautiful or sincere than _te amo_." My eyes widened. She couldn't speak english yet she knew that phrase in nine different languages. And such a phrase choice, that made me a little dizzy each one of the nine times she said it.

"Why do you know that phrase in specific in so many languages?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Because I think it's the best one to prove my point. The feeling is never as real as if I state in spanish."

"Sadly not everyone can understand it." The look she gave me in that very moment made everything inside me change place, and I was pretty sure I was now breathing with my liver. It's not a good thing to do, just in case you're wondering.

"Oh, I think I'm safe for now." My brain had some sort of ADHD reaction 'cos a thousand different voices started screaming different things all at the same time, between the ones I could identify 'She's talking about you!' and 'She probably doesn't have anyone she wants to tell that yet' and a thousand others. I really wished the first one to be right, though. "Are your hands always this warm?" She asked instead, changing the course of my thoughts completely. How did she do that? I think I blushed, too. I couldn't avoid staring at our hands, noticing the strange contrast between her pale skin and mine, way darker. Her hand was tiny too, and it looked even littler in mine, which somehow gave me the feeling I was holding something incredibly fragile and I got the sudden idea I could break it.

"Uhm, yes, I suppose. I guess fire is within me" I confessed. I never liked talking about the pyrokinesis, but I thought just maybe, since she had continued arguing with me instead of freaking out because I had suddenly caught fire, maybe it would be okay with her.

"So you're hot stuff" she blurted out, and when she realised that what she said could be understood in many ways, she blushed. It was the first time I saw her blushing. I rephrase, it was the first time I saw her blushing _because of me_. "I mean, _literally_." She corrected herself. Really, what was she pretending? 'Cos if making me lose my mind was her goal, she could stop now, 'cos she'd already achieved it.

The walk started feeling way too long, 'cos I think I wouldn't stand not another metre like this, I might... I don't know, I felt almost as I would start burning, and in some sections I could've sworn I was steaming again. I didn't know how had she been able to hold my hand all the way. Luckily for me and my subnormal body temperature, we had reached my lunch spot. She sat down on a tree trunk she'd moved to the only spot that was illuminated by a ray of sun. The forest there was quite steep. She sunbathed while I started pulling things out of my belt. Now and then I would get distracted by the way her skin looked even paler under the sunlight, or how her eyes shone like polished rubies, instead of raw ones, when they reflected the rays of sun. I noticed even there, where she might've been able to keep herself pretty warm, she was still wearing her denim jacket. I also observed she had a tattoo of a minuscule butterfly on her neck, behind her right ear. I wanted to know what it meant, why had she gotten it, but I decided not to freak her out by letting her know I had stared at her for long enough to see it.

When I was ready cooking, I turned to tell her lunch was ready, but she was kneeling next to me, her face a couple centimetres from mine, looking down to what I'd cooked. When she lifted her eyes, I stared right into them for what felt like hours. Something inside me ached. I think I forgot breathing.

"You have a stain there" I said, pointing to her orange shirt. She looked down, and I lifted my finger and poked her nose. That was my best escape strategy. I had gotten so scared and hesitant and numb I had felt almost as if I was going to be sick. "Got ya." She gave me an annoyed look.

"So mature, Valdez." She went back to the food and so did I.

"So, well, I made some tacos, I hope you... oh gods, I forgot, are you by any chance a vegetarian?" I forgot completely. Damn it.

"Does that have meat?" She asked with a worried expression.

"Lots." I flinched.

"Wonderful, I'm starving." She told me before picking one and biting it.

"You _are_ mean, Lizzie!" I pointed out, open mouthed.

She showed me her tongue. "I just like teasing you, you fool. Anyways, this guacamole is really good."

"Thanks" was all Ii could manage to say. Yeah, we were such grown ups. But teasing each other made us temporarily forget those unsaid things that were floating in the air and for now was better if they stayed that way. Because I was pretty sure none of us would know what to do if we said them.

That afternoon, Affie went back to arranging her cabin and I had to go back to work. As if suspecting where I'd been or what I'd been doing during lunch, Annabeth was specially bossy the whole afternoon, and gave me no breaks until dinner. I didn't complain, in fact, I worked harder so she wouldn't feel I had just forgotten about our quest. I knew what were we supposed to do. It didn't stop me from wondering all the time what could've happened if I hadn't made the stain joke just then. That night, at campfire, Affie and I held hands again while singing with the rest of the camp, and no one said a thing about it.

* * *

**Translations:**

*Do you speak italian?

**No, I don't. Why do you ask me?


	6. Chapter 6: Fall and fly

Hi, so, little introduction first. I hope you've enjoyed the previous chapters, I know I might have messed it up a little with grammar and everything, but I'm doing my best (since I'm not a native speaker) and I really needed to write this in english. Anyways, my tiny intervention here is due to a song recommendation for this chapter. Mainly for the end of it: _Abrázame_ by Camila. I'm sorry for those who don't speak spanish and won't understand the lyrics. I hope you can find them in english 'cos they apply beautifully. That's it. Enjoy :)

* * *

I woke up sweating, with my hair sticking to my forehead. I'd had a terrible nightmare. It had started as a very nice dream, I was talking to Affie, we were holding hands and she was cold, so I put my arms around her to keep her warm. It had been perfect, even if inside a dream. Then her face shifted and the Gaea was looking at me with a wicked grin, scaring the hell out of me. She tried to strangle me. Tía Callida had appeared right then, fighting her out of my dreams, as if she had been guarding them. The thought of Hera overlooking my imaginary scenes with Affie didn't make me feel any better.

"You will blow it all up" said Gaea, and even in real life I shivered. Hera told me not to worry, that it was time for me, her warrior, to take it easy for a little while. Somehow I could not believe her. It was too good to be true, having this goddess tell me I could take a vacation.

I got out of bed and took a quick shower, put on some clean clothes and went to have breakfast. When I was walking in front of the Apollo cabin, my stomach twisted and tied itself up, because there she was, talking with Will Solace. Why did she _always_ have to go back to him like that? Yet this time she wasn't smiling, and she seemed very uncomfortable. Will had a worried expression, and I was about to intervene when I thought better of it. I could almost feel the blood in my veins boiling, and catching fire again wouldn't be forgiven by Chiron again. If she was talking to that guy again, it was her problem. She had made very clear the day before she did not want me rescuing her. Their conversation didn't last long, though. She caught a glimpse of me and waved in my direction, but I ignored her, pissed.

She was lost in thought all breakfast, and I had a really hard problem to concentrate on what my cabinmates were saying. Half my mind was like 'Screw her, she's just messing with you' and the other half kept yelling 'Fight back! Go for it!' and it was most difficult to make them shut up. Jake, sitting to my left, shook me and murmured to me.

"Dude, if you can't stop thinking about her, date her, but for the love of the gods, don't get caught up in daydream. We have a ship to build." He was right. I apologised and spent the rest of the breakfast talking about engines and turbines. When the breakfast finished, Affie herself walked up to me.

"You didn't say hi to me earlier." She accused me. I had ignored her twice, since I had also avoided her as we entered the dining pavilion, so I couldn't act like it had been a casualty.

"I didn't want to end the magic your little conversation earlier, Williams" I told her, way more resentfully than I intended. But I hated seeing her with that guy, even when Will was usually a non-zombie, easy-going person. I simply. Couldn't. Stand it.

"Hey, he was just apologising. He got back to his cabin last night, Chiron explained everything to him, and he was really ashamed. I told him it hadn't been his fault, and that I would keep the secret. I don't think he wants the girl he really likes to know the details of yesterday's confrontation." She had taken my right hand with hers, brushing her fingers playfully against mine. It somehow had a really calming effect.

"So what's the official version?" I asked, sighing.

"I dumped him because you kicked his butt in a really heroic and romantic way." She grinned.

"Oh yeah, I looked very manly knocking him out with my shoes." I told her, and she laughed. I wished I could spend the entire morning with her, but we both had things to do. "How's your cabin doing?" I asked instead.

"Oh, you'll see. I'm gonna be done by lunch, so in the afternoon I'll have archery class, sword fight lessons and practice in the climbing wall." She shifted the weight of her body to her right leg. "You will be able to check how has my cabin turned out tomorrow morning."

"Just don't die in training 'cos I'd hate to postpone my ship construction for planning your funeral." I said before frowning, confused. "Tomorrow morning?"

"I'll keep the not dying thing in mind." She teased. "Tomorrow it's your cabin's turn for cabin inspection, mr. Counsellor." I tried to stop my mind from racing at that thought. _Hold it_, I told myself. _Hold it for later_. It technically meant we were going to be alone in her cabin. More than technically. "See you for outlaw lunch?" I blinked. Was that now a thing?

"Uh, I don't know, I guess-" She clearly wasn't waiting for my answer.

"I'll cook today, Valdez. I'll show you what kitchen is really about." Then she pressed my hand as a 'see ya' and walked away.

I spent all morning working like crazy so I would be in time for lunch. Everybody was looking at me as if my hyperactivity had reached new levels, but I didn't care. I was smiling like a lunatic, fixing stuff, telling people not to be so narrow-minded, you could definitely fit eight king-size rooms in a twenty-feet long ship. When I finished the morning shift, I was completely soaked in oil and dirt, but I didn't have time to change and go have lunch. I figured Affie wouldn't mind.

She was completely fresh, maybe because she had only been fixing last details on her cabin, but she didn't seem to notice I was completely dirty. Or so I thought, but I thought wrong.

"You don't have to try so hard to win my heart, Valdez." She joked, clearly referring to my look. Then she got closer and lifted my goggles, which I'd forgotten I still had on.

"Oh, I thought I'd already done that. Damn, now I'll have to work harder." I admitted dramatically, and she smiled nervously. Yeah, this kind of flirting made me anxious as well, like if I had that nasty butterflied-stomach feeling and that was way too gooey to be good.

She was a really good cook, I had to give her that. Best chop-suey ever. _Sorry, mom_. We ate and said good-bye. It was difficult pretending we were old friends who did this since forever but it was our best plan so far, with so many unsaid things.

When I saw her that afternoon, she was full covered in scratches. She had been forced to get rid of the her denim jacket and she was now sweaty and dirty, her hair pulled back in a ponytail. I suddenly realised I wasn't the only one working there at Bunker 9 staring at her.

"What are you all staring at? I thought you had a trireme to build." She yelled at all the big, sweaty, oil covered guys surrounding her. They all went back to work on the spot. They'd never followed _my_ instructions so quickly, and I felt betrayed. "What are _you _staring at, Valdez?" She asked me, but I could immediately tell her tone was way more playful, like she was teasing me or something. Gods, I maybe _should_ ask her out.

"What _happened_ to you?" I had to ask, still stunned by the accentuated tough-girl look she had after the training.

"I got hit by some Athena's son during the sword fighting lesson... Malcolm, I think his name was" she explained, pointing a cut on her cheek. "And I got hit on my leg with a rock while climbing the wall, but I least I didn't get barbecued." She grinned. "I'm exhausted" she confessed before falling next to me and sitting on the ground. "Here, I brought you a snack." She bit an apple she had with her and then tossed it to me. I caught it and gave it a bite as well. I kept working for a while, I had to finish or Annabeth would kill me. I became more clumsy under her watch, thinking she was overlooking my every move, which made me weary of every single one of my actions. When I finally allowed myself to look at her, she was sleeping, curled up on the ground, holding between her fingers some wires she had intertwined to create a beautiful steel flower. She had really skilful hands. That was cute somehow, such a tough girl being able to create such delicate things. I hated the thought of having to wake her up, she seemed to be having a great time in the land of Morpheus. She giggled while sleeping, and that made me wonder what was she dreaming about. One of her eyes opened.

"It is very creepy to stare at people while they sleep, Valdez." I immediately blushed, she had been awake and had caught me staring at her; gods, she was evil. _Evil woman_.

"I uhm..." I didn't know how to explain myself. I couldn't come up with any useful smart ass excuses.

"I was kidding. But I'll have to get paid back for being stalked so shamelessly." I was about to ask what did she want in exchange for catching me watching her sleep, but once again she wasn't waiting for my answers nor my approval. She simply stood up, took a couple steps and kissed me on the cheek. "That should do." It felt somehow different than the first time she'd done it. This one was so not a 'hey so you speak spanish, thank the gods' kiss. I stood there, probably burning at mild temperature while she walked off.

She didn't meet me that night at campfire, but I was pretty sure I'd seen her denim jacket in the middle of the crowd at least twice. Jason and Piper were there, though, holding hands and sporadically kissing each other, singing while Jason hugged her from the back. As we were leaving, Jason came to me. Piper came after him. She spoke the words his expression hinted he was about to say.

"Where's Affie?" She asked. I shrugged.

"I have no idea."

"Weren't the two of you dating?" Jason asked, although Piper knew better.

"You should go for it, you know." She told me, and I noticed she'd clearly had changed her mind about the Affie-matter. I sighed uncomfortably, I knew what they meant, but the timing wasn't exactly right. If it were that easy, I knew somehow that Affie herself would've done a move by now, but something was retaining her, and whatever that was, made me hesitate as well. I had the impression I knew what it was, and it definitely wasn't a good thing.

"I know. I'll try." I said before I told them I was tired and went to my cabin for some sleep. Did I truly need to date her? Was that the only way? I didn't feel quite like myself lately and I didn't know if it would help letting all go and just, you know, let things be. Would I feel any less lost if I just gave in? I felt incredibly terrified next to her, like if anything I said or did needed a lot of courage to happen. The insecurity and the blue I would normally swallow and hide would break my defences from the inside pulling me wide open in ways I would've never let it happen. I felt more vulnerable than usual, less confident, less smart ass. Even when all of it was a cover, it felt weird not to have it.

That night I had my first dreamless night in a long, long time. Well, not exactly dreamless. Affie was there, knocking guys with her shoes, standing flawless, smiling confidently at me. Like she knew what she did to me every time she smirked that way. _Curse her_, she was there even in dreams.

"I will be just fine." She assured me, before standing on the tip of her toes and leaning forward... I woke up with that unusual grogginess I got after a good night sleep. I showered quickly, and I started checking cabins. Our cabin got a two. Hephaestus' children weren't exactly neat, so we never got truly good scores. Just when whoever was making the inspection took pity on us. Jason had everything organised, neat and clean. What a surprise. Five out of five. So did the Demeter, Aphrodite and Athena cabins. Apollo, Nike and Dionysius got a four. Ares, Hecate, Tyche and Iris got a three. Hermes, Nemesis and Hebe got a two and Hypnos got a one out of pity. Not that they were awake to care for it. And then I had only the newest cabin left: cabin twenty-one, Eros' cabin. From the outside it looked exactly the same as it had when inhabited, a pale wooden cabin with a nice front porch. I noticed that there were black curtains on the windows now. There were some flowers on the porch, azaleas, I recognised. She had put some creepers on the right side of the cabin, the orange colour they caught now, in the middle of the fall, was breathtaking. I thought that was kind of cool. I stepped on the porch with a dreadful feeling, and before I could knock, the door swung open. And there she was, grinning a silent 'I've got this'.

"Hey Liz, came to check out the place." I told her as I stepped inside.

"All yours" she welcomed me and, oh my gods, this one might have been one of the, maybe not coolest, but definitely nicest and cosiest cabins ever. A half-wall came mid way to the end of the cabin, so it hid only half the room, half the way from the floor to the ceiling. Against the wall was a truly nice black couch with red cushions, facing a bookshelf full of what I recognised as novels. Fantasy novels. That was to the left, to the right corner, against the cabin's back and right walls, was a chimney surrounded by cushions all in red and bright orange, very fiery like. The walls were all red cherry or white. Her bow and quiver hung on the right wall. Behind the wall in the middle of the room were two beds, separated by curtains, which were kind of whitey transparent, so I thought they were more for aesthetic porpoises rather than privacy ones.

"You got generous" I told her. It was well known, by now, the fact that Eros' children appeared as one every two centuries or so. The belief of having to share the room with anyone was almost wishful thinking.

"I have shared a room with my little sister since she was born. The room felt too big with just one bed." She told me, and I understood what she meant. Hephaestus cabin was quite crowded, and we appreciated the modified beds for privacy. But in cabins that had really few demigods, it must've felt empty. There was a lot of free space, even with two beds instead of one. I took a short glance at the night table. There was a picture of a very photogenic family, in which she was wearing a dress that made her look pretty childish. At the bottom of each bed, there were chests, hers probably had the few things she had been carrying with her when she got abducted by one of our satyrs. A painting hung on the front wall, at the remaining corner made by the front and the right wall, where a winged toddler was looking at a butterfly who was resting on his arm.

"Eros?" I asked.

"Yup, although this one is his most famous form, as the romans saw him, Cupid. I painted it during the Arts & Crafts lesson, but it's a replica. The original one is from William-Adolphe Bougeureau."

I was suddenly impressed. Even more than by the cabin itself. "You painted this?"

She nodded. I stared, and finally came to the realisation that we were alone in the cabin. We had been alone several times now, but somehow the subtle knowledge of there being a rule which prohibited the present situation made me burst with nervousness. Suddenly all the 'date her's I'd been told the past few days started popping in my mind. I got tense, and I think she noticed it 'cos, from one moment to another, the air felt so thick I might have been able to lift my hand and touch it.

"You know, Lizzie..." I mumbled, and then I shut up. I had no idea how to continue that, so I gasped for air, 'cos oxygen was not reaching my brain properly.

"I know, Leo. I know." She hadn't called me by my name for so long I felt compelled to do something, anything. But as always, she was the one to take the biggest step. I caught her hand, and she came closer, first slowly, then rushed. I hit the wall behind me with my back. You know, most members of the masculine genre must be disappointed of what I did then, but I certainly didn't need more. Or maybe I didn't know I needed more.

She hugged me, and for a while we just stood there, with our arms around each other. I kissed her head, and said nothing, did nothing. Her hair smelled of lilies. She _was _really cold. I held her tighter, my hands hanging awkwardly at my sides until I found the curve of her hips. And in that very moment, I understood it. I liked her, and I wanted to make her laugh and go out with her. I wanted to kiss her, but as I understood all of it, I knew it was hopeless. That's why I stood there, hugging her, hoping for a way to make this right.


	7. Chapter 7: Just a kiss

Hi. Song recommendation for the end of this chapter again :3 This time the song is Just A Kiss by Lady Antebellum, I believe the lirics fit the scene perfectly. Enjoy :)

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Sweet and mildly warm. It was everything she could ever wish for. The sun shined outside but in here it was dark and cosy. A thousand million candles lit up for us. Magical candles, I had put with the help of Lou, who had gently offered herself to make my cabin more _romantic_. I could've spent there the rest of eternity. I hid my face on his shoulder and the smell of oil and shampoo surrounded me. I had never felt quite that right in my life. I put my arms on his shoulders and let my fingers play with the little locks he had at the back of his neck. He shivered, and his warmth got more intense, but I was always so cold, so, so cold, and I felt it like a pleasant change. After a couple of minutes, we both knew we couldn't stay like that forever, even if we wanted to. I looked up to him and I saw the exact same thoughts I had, shining in his eyes. _What if we burn?_ The prophecy had said so, and it probably worried him. He wasn't sure about how safe I was with him, and neither was I. He had caught fire by heating up on a fight, and other mood changes might set him on fire as well. So far I didn't know whether I was fireproof or not, and I guess catching fire wasn't the best way to figure it out. As if it weren't enough preoccupation, I could still hear the mud lady on the street. _You'll smash him_. I played with his braces, nervously, while he picked locks of my hair between his fingers and played with them. I felt like crying. Why did we have to deal with this? It was so unfair, so incredibly unfair. My throat itched and I blinked back tears. He looked me in the eye, and brushed the cut on my cheek with his thumb. We were so close yet we didn't dare to do anything else, the wrong move might be our last. _Fire will burn and your love will burn with it_. I could hear Aphrodite's words mocking me, with her proud, damnably gorgeous voice. _You will die painfully and slowly, longing for the love you'll never achieve_. She had threatened me and I got cursed by her. Did that mean I was never going to be able to kiss Leo? Would he be up to a relationship of just holding hands? I mean, I wasn't sure even _I_ could stand that.

"C'mon, let's go" I told him, the candles around us flickering and turning off. The blue in my heart did not ignite them anymore. I lowered my eyes, 'cos looking at him was hurtful. He didn't protest, but I guessed he was just as depressed, and the words just couldn't come out. Still, he managed to speak after all.

"We'll figure it out, Liz. We won't let those damn prophecies decide for us." He looked too determined and manly while saying it my heart ached. _I hope you are right_. It seemed so hopeless yet, just like him, I didn not want to give up without even trying.

"Let's not let this crush our spirits" I told him. "We can still hold hands." I pointed out, looking for the bright side, with a mischievous smile.

"I don't have to worry, I was just wondering whether you'll be able to handle me since, you know, I'm hot stuff." He teased. I smiled. We were both faking this time, but it was the only way to go on. The Fates were just too cruel, or maybe greek lives were supposed to be cruel. Tragedies, like the ones in the plays. It was either comedy or tragedy, and it was more than clear ours wasn't going to be the funny, light story. No, we were condemned for something more painful.

We entered the dining pavilion holding hands, even when we knew that would create a lot of jokes and such, but at least I wasn't going to waste the few occasions I had to spend with him just for worrying about a bunch of teenagers who thought of teasing couples as a sport. _Fuck them all_. I ate alone at my table, the scratch of my breakfast a silent prayer. _Please dad, let me believe you're nothing like Aphrodite_. When I noticed anyone staring at me, except of course, the nice campers who had helped me the last few days, I shot them a 'mind your own business look'. I was so not in the mood for gossips. Lou was smiling brightly at me, and I thought maybe she thought something else had happened.

When I had finished breakfast, I waved off Leo, and Lou came to me. She had excited looks, and I didn't blame her, but I shook my head. Lou must've not intended it, but when she told me to 'let it all out' there was some hidden order in her voice, and I don't know why, but I obeyed her. Since the very first moment I had met her, I knew there was something tricky about her, the magic and the Mist she was able to control, but only now I could understand just how much it could affect the ones around her. And now, I was crying in front of someone for the first time ever, breaking all my rules. Lou gave me an apologetic smile, and her eyes shimmered empathically.

"At least you're together" she tried to look on the bright side. "Some people in camp are worse than that." I felt even worse, for had been crying over something so superficial as it was not being able to kiss a boy I really liked, when I remembered Annabeth had been months without knowing a thing about her boyfriend. She must've been going nuts. It made me truly admire her. Yet somehow, I knew he was still out there, longing for her. That Percy boy really missed his Annabeth.

I got a couple of good news talking with Lou, though. I could finally contact my mother via Iris message. I could also try to figure out the prophecy with the help of their _expert_, Rachel Dare. The only problem was she was on school right then, and she would come to camp during winter holidays to check everything was in order, so I had to wait until then. But at least now I had deadlines, goals to look up to. I didn't feel so numb anymore, and being able to cry with Lou made me feel more relieved afterwards. Maybe being weak for a while made you stronger in the end.

After that morning, things slowly moulded themselves into a routine. I would wake up, take a shower, go to the dining pavilion with Leo, have breakfast alone. I would have my lessons and training all day, some greek mythology classes with Lou, sword fighting with Malcolm. I could not spend much time with Leo, but I would manage to escape lunch for having out-law lunch with him, cuddle and talk for a while. After my day was over, I would make him company by reading some new novel or simply staring at him while he worked. We would usually start talking about the ship and how cool it would turn out to be. I once told him to make constellation lamps for the rooms, and he said that was one cool idea. I told him I was full of them. Then he would start talking about engines and motors, at first I wouldn't get a thing, but the more we talked, the more I began to understand about machines and electronic systems. Leo made it easy for me to understand how they worked, and soon enough we could both comment on the topic. Although I knew just the theory, and there was no way I could get my hands to make anything that required wires.

After that, we would have dinner, each one at its table, and then there was the campfire. Campfires and capture-the-flag fridays were my favourites. During capture the flag, we would mainly argue on how he was not supposed to protect me, but the flag, and how I was completely capable of defending myself and the flag. The other campers loved to put us on defence together just so they would have their every friday argument. Sometimes, I felt as I was almost starting to wrap my mind about the idea of not being able to kiss him, and sometimes, I would have to remind myself to fight the urge, and it was really difficult. It was probably the same for him. Fall was coming to an end, and the magic barriers of the camp would let rain come down into the property fields, so the strawberries could get the water they needed. That's when I would spend my after training evenings standing with an umbrella next to Leo, playing to let his hair get wet. He would eventually grow tired of it and snap in flames and tell me playfully to back of. I would retreat my umbrella.

"Yeah, I'm Leo Valdez and I'm so hot I burn under the rain" I mocked him once.

"You're so gonna regret that, Liz" he told me, and threw some mud at me. I opened my mouth.

"This is war, Valdez. And you chose your opponent with terrible judgement, 'cos I never miss!" _Splash_, right on his face. He aimed at me several times, and missed a lot of them. I, instead, had him covered in mud.

"Okay, enough." He gave up, and grabbed my left wrist. I was left handed, so I wouldn't be able to stuck him again. "Game over. Time to make you pay." He said, and cleaned his muddy hands on my face. Then he took my hands and I let our fingers interlace. We stood closer, and I cleaned my face on his shirt. He put his arms around me and rested his hands on my hips. I rested mine interlaced around his neck. I looked up to him, and my emotions divided between joy and sorrow.

"You're so cold, Liz" he said, as he usually did. He always sounded so surprised, as if he had half expected I would heat to normal temperature the next time. I liked being cold, it made him hug me tighter and I would be able to brush my cheek against his. This kind of contact was the most intimate thing we had and I'd learnt to long for it so much, my heart ached just by touching his hand. Casualties like this one were the ones who set me thinking, and after them, I would go to the Athena cabin to borrow books on science stuff and such, for making research, and I would go to bed really late trying to figure out a way. There had to be a way.

Winter finally arrived, and one way or another, we would soon have a real hint on our situation, because Rachel would be there by Christmas break. That made us so anxious we would glare at each other from far and blush. There were fewer campers around now winter had come, but I didn't mind, because I loved winter. The cold, the scarves, the cosy scenery and all the warmth cold inspires. I loved winter specially because Leo would think I was about to become an ice cube every other minute, and he would wrap himself around me to keep me warm. Those past few weeks I had had really nice days, laughing and conquering all training classes. There were really few people who could beat me in sword fighting, and no one could shoot a bow better than me. I had to change my denim jacket for a black leather one in order to keep me from freezing under the mild camp's winter. Back home, winter was unforgiving, and being used to _that_ cold made this way more bearable.

The first snow fall of the season, Chiron allowed us to have an activity-free day. Annabeth was the only one who didn't seem as happy with it, but she said nothing, in order not to spoil other camper's joy. Leo and I went for a walk in the woods. It was truly freezing, by then I was used to the cold, which made me _feel_ it, so I was enjoying my opportunity to wear a scarf and a knitted hat. I needed no gloves, Leo's hands were the best thing I could wish for keeping warm. We sat there in the middle of the woods, not giving a shit about all the monsters that were supposed to be creeping around it. Leo's back was against some pine tree, and I cuddled against him. I was playing with his fingers when he withdrew one of his hands. I looked at him, frowning before pouting, asking for my hand. Snow swirled around us.

He laughed. "Don't be so conceited, I need it too, you know?" He told me, and he put it inside his pocket, looking for something he had in it. His hand came out with a beautifully shaped piece of metal that I afterwards figured was actually a piercing. It was long, so it would cover my whole ear side, in a wavish design that did not demand me to get pierced any more times*.

"My gods, Leo, it's beautiful." I told him, taking off immediately the ones I had on, to put on that one. "Does it look nice?" I asked.

"Of course it does, I made it." He answered, kissing me behind my ear. I shivered. That was more than we would usually risk. "Can I ask you something?" He was already asking something, but I nodded, taking possession of his hand again, playing with his fingers. "What does that tattoo mean?" The question got me by surprise, but I smiled.

"Butterflies are beautiful, aren't they?" I said.

"I suppose" he agreed, clearly disappointed with my answer.

"Yet some people are afraid of them, even though they are graceful and magnificent in most cases. I liked the idea of something than can be both pretty and intimidating, fragile but threatening." I confessed.

"I would've never thought of butterflies like that. Why did you get it?" He traced the butterfly on my neck with the fingers from his free hand.

"Because I needed to keep in mind that I'm like a butterfly. For some I'm cute or hot, for others I'm just weird. It doesn't matter as long as I know what am I." He chuckled.

"You're neither." Leo told me. "You are Lizzie. The girl I like for being filthy mouthed, caring and straightforward." He gave me a teasing kiss on my neck, maybe out of reflex, but we both froze as we realised what he had just done. His face said he was sorry, but I didn't want him to be. Which reminded me of something. I turned around and took off my jacket, and my gloves, and my scarf. Gods, it was _freezing_ out here.

"What the hell..." he exclaimed, but I grabbed his face between my hands and sighed. I hoped for the best.

"So, I've been thinking about us lately, and I got the feeling you and I have some pending issues." He was staring at me like I had suddenly gone crazy. Too late for regretting this. His face danced between fear, confusion and surprise.

"Okay, whatever you say Liz, but wrap up, I don't want you to freeze out here." He pleaded and my stomach started fluttering. My heart was racing. My hands fell to my sides.

"_Bésame_" I told him, so rushed, I forgot to talk in greek. I had clearly spoken too fast, because his bewildered expression needed no translation. I was about to pass out of anxiety and expectation. "Kiss me, you fool."

He gave me a really wounded look and smiled like I was making some kind of cruel joke, so I deciphered it would have to be just as always and I would have to take the lead. I took his face in my hands once again and I pressed my lips against his, taking advantage of his distraction at the thought of me being mean. At first, he was stiff, surprised, blocked. I was about to stop feeling my body, shaking out of control, freezing completely. And then I felt it. The warmth came right at me, right through me, right around me. I didn't care. I had been longing for this since _forever_ and I had finally achieved it. Leo withdrew, and I was left there, completely heartbroken. _Come back_, I wanted to tell him. He looked at me, clearly angry.

"Do you know how incredibly dangerous and nuts was what you just did?" He asked me. I looked down, starting to freeze again. I hadn't burnt. I didn't know how, I just knew I hadn't. Nothing ached, just the sudden distance between us. He lifted my chin and made me look at him.

"Nuts and danger is mostly what I liked you for" he told me before kissing me again, this time recklessly, letting me hold him tight, not letting go. _Thank the gods_, I thought, as I felt joy tears running down my cheeks. They vaporised soon. "You were always so, so cold, Lizzie" he whispered between kisses. I smiled against his lips.

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*In case you were wondering, this is how Affie's piercing looks like:


	8. Chapter 8: Here comes dare

It had been so long since we first hugged in her cabin during cabin inspection, that shyness was no longer a problem. I felt more like myself now, although around her I always felt a little blue because, no matter how close we were, I always felt that impediment of kissing her made us a little apart. Cuddling and holding hands was all we had. I was the one to make it awkward, like now, when without thinking about it, I kissed her neck and then we both froze. I could already feel my body temperature rising for something so tiny. Still, it was dne, and I couldn't keep out of my head what would it be like to kiss her. She and her complicated mind decided something and she turned around, took off her jacket and held my face in her _very cold_ hands. I started to worry about her, and her bare skin under that unforgiving cold. When she talked to me I didn't quite get what she said, I was just thinking how cold it was out here and how she was going to freeze right there in front of me if she didn't wrap up right away.

"_Ssame_" was what I heard her say. I gave her a confused look, if she was insulting me in italian it wasn't funny. But then she repeated her order. "Kiss me, you fool." She asked me, and made my heart sank. That was so not a funny joke, was she over it so easily? 'Cos I wasn't. I could never keep out of my mind the fact that any time, any day, she could get bored of me and ran to some other guy. 'Cos I couldn't kiss her, nor could I kiss any other girl, if my fears were true, but she could. Gods, she _had_. It made me really angry this Will guy had been able to kiss _my_ girlfriend unwillingly and I couldn't. And the gods knew I _really wanted_ to. I was about to tell her 'too soon, Williams' when she held my face in her hands again and pressed her lips over mine leaving me in shock. _What was she doing_. Of course, as I figured it out, my first instinct was to answer. It felt so incredibly right I couldn't believe I'd been missing this for so long. I wanted more, I _needed_ more, but a little voice screamed in the back of my head. _And your love will burn with it_. I drew myself back and looked at her, scared. What had she done.

I looked everywhere by some hint of burns on her skin, but she was perfectly fine, she simply seemed concerned I had broken the contact. Did she want me to die of a heart attack? I could've hurt her, gods, I could've killed her. I could've turned her to ashes right like I'd done with my mom, and I would've never forgiven myself if I'd hurt her. But she didn't have a scratch and I sighed with relief, told her she was nuts.

And then I gave in. I brushed my lips against hers, and she was so close, and so cold I thought I could just never keep her warm enough. There must have passed a couple minutes until we finally came apart. I'd thought I had been complete that morning in her cabin a couple weeks ago, when I held her tight and we unsaid the things we needed to say. Hell, I was wrong, _now_ I was complete. I kept brushing her hair with my hands, which was so soft. I kissed her cheeks a couple times, I was so glad I couldn't stop grinning.

"How did you do it? I need to know the secret so I can instruct my next girlfriend" I joked, but as she gave me an angry look, my expression changed to one that said_ too soon? _"No, but seriously. How did you know?" I had to ask.

"I didn't" she confessed. We were whispering, but I didn't mind. "I took a guess. I figured prophecies were about things that may change the world's fate, and somehow I could not believe me burning right now would make a change in the world." She explained while playing with the zipper of my jacket. She could never stay still, her tiny hands played with everything she could find... grass, wires, my hair, whatever she found first.

"It would make a change in _my_ world." I told her. She gasped.

"Leo..." she began, but I knew what she was thinking. She hadn't burnt now, but that didn't mean she was safe. She would eventually burn, and we wouldn't be able to avoid it. I really didn't want to think about that, so I shushed her and kissed her again. We made out and rested there. Soon enough she was playing with my hands once more, after I'd forced her to put on her jacket. "Let's take a nap" she suggested, with her eyelids closed, her head resting on my chest.

"A nap?" She always had the strangest ideas, yet I always ended up acceding to her requests.

"Yup, a siesta, but you have to actually nap. No creepy spying on my sleep." She joked.

"Hey, now it wouldn't be stalking, I'm your boyfriend, you know."

"That's exactly what a stalker would say." She dozed off, though, leaning against me. She fell asleep with my hands in hers, so I was trapped. Her breathing was so quiet and controlled. _What the hell_, I thought, and fell asleep as well.

I woke up with sunshine on my face. It had stopped snowing. By the position of the sun in the sky, I could tell it was almost lunch time. We had lost all morning. She groaned, clearly not happy to wake up. She was quite cute, like a sleepy puppy trying to ignore the activity around it so it can keep on sleeping, which made me feel really sorry for waking her up. I played with her hair, tangling it, which would probably make her mad once she found out, but until then wouldn't hurt.

"Rise and shine, sleepy head." I told her. Watching her with her 'I just woke up, don't bother me' face made my heart skip a beat. What would it be like to wake up every morning to that face?

"I hate when people wake me up" she complained.

"It's almost lunch."

"Food is good." She sighed and got to her feet. One second to another, she was fully awake. I was never able to do that. I was usually sleepy for a while after waking up, never able to be truly awake until I had taken a shower. Affie had different methods, though. She gave me her hand and helped me up, kissing me when I got to my feet. That was a pretty good way to wake me up completely. "Let's go" she commanded, and dragged me away. I looked back just a sec, and I saw all the snow at the bottom of the tree had melted, and the tree trunk was slightly burnt. I knew I was hot, but this was ridiculous.

When we got to the dining pavilion we parted, but before she could walk away, I grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her back to me, kissed her and then let her go. I needed everyone to see she was my girlfriend, and I could kiss her, and she was _mine_. So everyone had to stop dreaming about her 'cos she was definitely under the Leo-spell. Then, there was general excitement. I had to breathe deeply to turn off the little flames that were igniting all over me, but not such thing as a big deal. The girls from the Aphrodite cabin giggled when I walked by but it was too late for them. The Leo-train was long gone for them. Sold out.

Jake patted me on the back and said "Finally, man." I could only laugh gleefully. During the meal I kept glancing at Eros' table. Affie made faces everytime I looked at her. When I dared to look to the main table, where Chiron was sitting, I saw Rachel was sitting there too, with a worried expression, which sank all my happiness. Something in it made me preoccupied as well. As if my suspicions had been right, Chiron called council meeting right after lunch. My stomach tied itself in a bow. Affie, Piper, Jason and Annabeth had the same nervous looks.

We got together around the pin-pong table. Jason, Miranda Gardiner, Clarisse, Annabeth, Will Solace, Piper, Travis and Connor Stoll, Pollux, Butch, Clovis and Affie were there. Lou Ellen had attended even when she was sick with flu of some kind after a spell-gone-wrong or something. Ian Roberts from the Nike cabin, David Harris from the Tyche cabin, Elise from the Hebe cabin, and Lorelai Richmond from the Nemesis cabin were there too. The place was quite crowded. Chiron had had to attend in compact human form for all of us to fit in there. Rachel took a place next to Chiron.

"You could think about making this place bigger. Put a pool too, or something." I said, and I could immediately notice my suggestion wasn't welcomed. Chiron shot me a warning look.

"So, a quest has been issued. I believe Áfua will want to take a comfortable position before hearing the news." He warned. Silence fell. I was quite sure the temperature there dropped a couple degrees. Affie held my hand, I could tell she was scared. "Áfua, your mother has contacted camp. A gegeine came into their hotel room in Washington and took your sister; we have reasons to believe it's connected to the quest. Hera herself has commanded that three demigods must go south and retrieve something that has been stolen. The details will be given to those who are to complete the quest."

Affie froze and even her grip on my hand loosened. I thought she might pass out, but she slowly blinked and came back to reality, Lou put a hand on her shoulder. The mischievous look in Hecate's daughter had always made me quite uncomfortable, but she and Affie got along just fine. "I'll go." She stated. I wanted to tell her how dangerous quests were, but her sister had been kidnapped, and I had nothing to tell her that would be enough to make her desist of taking the quest. The room kept silent, yet no one objected.

"So, Áfua Williams, you may choose two companions and you may consult the Oracle of Delphi, with its hostess here, Rachel Dare."

"Anyone I pick may join me?" She seemed different, _colder_. Chiron nodded.

I have to admit I expected her to choose me first and not even wait for me to say whether I wanted to go with her or not, and then she would obviously need to make a choice because Lou wasn't in conditions of joining us. I was pretty sure it'd be me she'd pick first, so when she turned to Annabeth I felt surprised, and a little jealous. Did I inspire so little trustworthiness?

"You are wisdom's daughter. Who do you recommend?" Affie asked, and I suddenly understood why did she do it. She wasn't thinking on a pleasure trip. She was thinking of how to save her sister's life. She was ready for leaving with the meanest members from both the Aphrodite and the Ares cabins if that was what it took to bring her sister home safe.

"I think you should talk to Rachel first, then decide." Annabeth adviced.

"Well, then" Rachel spoke up. "I will take a walk with her. I think the rest of you are dismissed. You will be updated on the situation as soon as she has made up her mind, if you are asked to accompany her or, on the contrary, you will be notified of the quest's details later tonight."

Thank the gods, it'd been an activity-free day, 'cos otherwise I could easily tell Annabeth would've made me go back to work on the Argo II. Instead, I stood outside the Big House, waiting for Affie to come back. I hated when Chiron referred to her, mainly because I really disliked her name, for some reason I could not quite understand. The nickname her sister had given her, on the other hand, that one I liked. Lou gave an apologetic smile to Affie, as she walked off with Rachel, and then got on her way as well. Piper and Annabeth walked off, but Jason stayed to chat.

"Saw you on fire today at lunch. Bragging is wrong, you should know that." He began.

"Couldn't help it... I'm sick worried for her, man. What if I don't get to go with her? She's choosing with her brain, she's like an automaton right now. She's got only one goal: saving her sister. I fear that may lead her into making big mistakes."

"Women are too complicated, Leo." He told me. I thought he was kidding, but when I looked at him, he looked pretty serious.

"You kidding. I thought they were a piece of cake." I used my beloved sarcasm.

"Ha ha, very funny, but my point here is you just gotta stick around and catch them if they fall. Captivating girls are like that, they make you feel helpless and you hang on to the hope they'll screw up and you'll be able to help them. They usually never do. And you won the lottery of captivating girls, Leo." I could understand Jason's logic, but it was so deep it freaked me out.

"Dude, you got a bit carried away." Jason looked at me, like I got him out of some trance. He laughed, and I did too.

We waited there something like twenty minutes, and talked over the Argo II, training, girls. He had been training hard, since he had nothing to do but waiting until the ship was ready. He was a son of Zeus, he was meant for battle, not forging, he was no blacksmith nor engineer. When Rachel and Affie came back, some blonde dude was with them, who I later recognised as Annabeth's brother, Malcolm. He had a sword hanging from his belt. As she walked fast, going straight into the Big House, Affie pointed at me.

"You are coming with me." I grinned. _Told ya_. I walked after her, waving off Jason with my best smirk of 'duty calls', which made him laugh.

"Yes, ma'am" I told Affie, but she did not turn around, not even for giving me an angry look.

We all stood again around the ping-pong table, but at least now we had nachos. Some thoughtful being had put some guacamole too, thank the gods. I owed Affie one, this had been her motion. I grabbed some and started chewing, trying to get hold of my nerves. Chiron was sitting on a corner. Rachel seemed quite fond of Affie, even when they'd talked for barely half an hour. Then again, it had taken me just an afternoon to fall hard for her. It wasn't hard for Affie getting people to like her.

"Rachel has spoken a prophecy for the quest." Chiron announced. "Could you repeat it, for all of us to hear it, please?"

Rachel cleared her throat. "_Three shall meet the partying one_

_and shall rescue the young._

_Fire will burn, and your love will burn with it,_

_for only two the missing ones shall retrieve_."

"So one of us is not coming back." Malcolm summed up. Such a ray of sunlight, this Malcolm guy.

"We've trained together in sword fighting class, and your sister Annabeth, whom I've taken advice from, spoke very highly of you. I need wisdom in my trip, and you're one of Athena's children. However, you are able to accept or decline my request to join me. It's up to you." Affie spoke up.

He nodded. "I'll go."

"It doesn't necessarily mean that whoever is not coming back will die" Rachel explained. "It's a riddle, but it doesn't say _death_, so we have some probabilities of it being, you know, just staying somewhere else and not coming back to camp." We knew it was very unlikely, but since it was a spirit lifter, we took it.

"So, Áfua, you'll take Leo and Malcom with you. Hera gave quite specific directions. You must leave before Winter Solstice, that being two days from today. You have three days to retrieve what has been stolen, save your sister and be back at camp."

I took the word then. "What has been stolen?" Because if he'd said it before, I hadn't heard him.

"Eros' bow and quiver." Rachel answered.

"What?" This time, it was Affie who seemed surprised. "Are you telling me I have to retrieve something my father lost? Can't he, like, go and retrieve it himself?"

"Gods need demigods because of the several tasks they cannot complete. This is one of them. Great honour, to be able to help your own parent." Affie gave him an 'if you say so' look and went back to being silent. Chiron told us we would be given supplies and transport. We would start our search at Baltimore, when the police last reported track of Affie's sister. He told us we were to leave at first hour the next day, and although I could see Affie wanted to protest, she understood we needed to rest well to start the quest in the best possible conditions. We took our leave. I walked up to Affie, but she was talking to Malcolm, probably chatting about strategies. I had hoped we would use our remaining time to rest and make out (hey, I had just been able to kiss my girlfriend for the first time that morning) but apparently she had things to plan. She mouthed something like _sneak_ and _tonight_, so I figured she meant I would have to sneak into her cabin tonight. I got a tingling sensation at the back of my neck.

I decided to make up for the days I'd be gone, so I walked towards Bunker 9, where Annabeth was looking over some last changes I'd done to the Argo II. She was the only one from the ones who were going to visit roman camp soon that understood anything about engineering.

"Gonna do extra hours, boss" I announced, but her sad look made me think maybe she just missed Percy. It's been a perfectly nice day for cuddling and watching the snow fall, and I knew that very well myself.

* * *

I'm sorry, I know what I'm going to say might be understood as bragging, but I truly do not intend so. Ii just wanted to point out... did you see what I did in the title? Did you?


End file.
